


Magical Beach

by Fleppy85



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 58,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24997591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fleppy85/pseuds/Fleppy85
Summary: Sara takes some time off on an tropical island. To her surprise Sofia works on this island.
Relationships: Sofia Curtis/Sara Sidle





	Magical Beach

Tuesday

Heat. A lot of heat. It punched your right into the face when you left your air conditioned room. A nice and small room with a queen size bed, a white stone floor that seemed to be the best place to be in case the air con broke down. Two windows at the front, in between a door. All three were covered with long sandy colored curtains. A nightstand, two chairs, a wooden chair, a light brown door to the bathroom. Everything was bright, welcoming and made you feel like you’re on holidays. Well, it was a holiday place. Even if the brunette who left the room right now wasn’t on holidays. Or was she? She wasn’t sure herself. All she knew was she found something that looked like paradise and heaven, seemed to be free of anything bad and a place where everybody was having fun and enjoying life. Exactly the place she had been looking for so many years, maybe her entire life. The place was called Magical Beach and it fitted it just like the shoes had fitted Snow White.   
A whole new world, the perfect place for a new beginning. At least that was what the brunette hoped when she put on her shades, locked the door behind herself and walked with slow but steady steps towards the beach. You only had to glaze at it and you knew why they called this place Magical Beach. As far you could look there was nothing else than deep white sandy beach. The bay was about two miles long and a hundred yards wide, she was in the center and the entire two miles were covered with white sand, that ended on one side in the deep blue ocean, waves softly falling onto the sand and huge green palms on the other side. If you were lucky you found a coconut on the beach, if you were skilled you could climb up and get a fresh one and if you were unlucky it fell on your head. The coconut palms were supposed to be the only danger at this place. You liked it less dangerous and didn’t like to climb? There were banana trees only a short walk away, you could pick a banana and go back to the beach.   
There were around four dozen of little bungalows in this bay, a house that was a shop and restaurant at the same time and the place the brunette was heading to: the bar. Sheltered under a straw roof a round bar with two bartender and a lot of bottles on ice were located next to the beach. You could order your drink and enjoy it with an ocean view. Exactly what she wanted to do. Having a cocktail and watch the surfer waiting for the perfect wave and ride it to the beach, watch the swimmer playing in the little waves at the shore, looking at snorkeling people and waiting for their stories about what they’ve seen. They came to the little bar sooner or later. To get a drink, to have a conversation, to sit and watch or find somebody who joined them in the water. A little paradise. Her little paradise.   
“Good morning Beauty, how did you sleep?”  
“Wonderful.” That wasn’t lie. Had sleeping been a problem for her, since she was on Magical Beach she slept like a baby. No matter what time she went to bed she woke up seven hours later and felt like she had slept for ages. No nightmares, no interruption, only pure sleep. The last thing she heard in the evening was the sound of the ocean, the first thing she heard in the morning was the same sound. Maybe it sounded stupid to repeat this all the time, but it was like paradise.   
“Then you slept like you look like.” The tall black man sent her a warm smile while he mixed her a drink. He knew exactly what she wanted, she had been here since fourteen days and every day she started her day with the same cocktail. A non alcohol one with a lot of fruits and no ice. Skilled he poured the right amount of juice in the shaker, he didn’t need anything to make sure he poured not too much or too less, he just knew without looking. His eyes laid on her, watching her while he smiled with his deep white teeth. A little smirk was in the corner of his mouth when he put the cocktail in front of her and turned to get some fruits that he chopped faster than she could watch his hands move. Bananas, oranges, mandarins, coconuts, papayas, melons and pineapples. Her breakfast.   
“Tell me Beauty, what are your plans for today, beside making me happy with your smile and your company?”  
“I thought of taking a kayak to explore the bay. If I get the good looking guy at the bar to make me a little lunch packet I’ll have a stop on the small island.” She sent him a soft smile. He was a reason why she liked her stay here so much. The best company she could have asked for.  
“Honey.” He leant forward. If other people did something like this she always felt intimidated by their body, their face close to hers. When he did it she felt good, she didn’t mind him close, she enjoyed him, his presence and loved the smell of his perfume. The dark eyes sparkled when he talked to her, he always made her feel like she was the only person in the whole universe he cared about even when she knew, she saw, that he did the same with all his other guests. It had to be a special present.   
“I’ll make everything you ask me to do, but I didn’t know you were into trouble.”  
“Why?” She didn’t plan to have any trouble. All she wanted was a relaxed day.   
“Because that island is private property, you can’t just have lunch there.”  
“Will you tell the owner?”  
“I don’t have to, the owner lives there.”  
“Somebody is living there?” It was a tiny island, she didn’t see a house nor a bungalow. Until now she thought it was an empty island, the perfect place to go if you wanted to be alone. Half a mile away from the beach people didn’t swim over and there were no boats, only kayaks. If you wanted to rent a boat you had to go on the other side of this island, which took you by car ten minutes and by foot over half an hour.   
“Yes.”  
“Okay. What a pity, it could have been such a lovely place for my lunch. Got another idea for me what to do today?”  
“Beside sitting here and spend the day with me?”  
“Yes.” She smiled.   
“Why not get a wetsuit, take a waterproofed camera and take some photos of the corals? There’s no wind, the ocean should be calm, the perfect day for some snorkeling.”  
“You sent me snorkeling yesterday.”  
“Honey, the bay is huge, I could send you snorkeling for the rest of your life and you’d find everyday something new. It’s a living place, it changes every very second. You know that and I remember the look on your face when you came out of the water yesterday, you looked as happy as a beautiful girl can be.”  
She laughed. He was right. The ocean, the world beneath the side of the water she lived, was breathtaking amazing and wouldn’t bore her in a thousand years. He was right, she should have a look again, should explore a new area and find new fishes, shells and whatever else. Maybe she’d even find an old pirate treasure. All right, now she was dreaming.  
“Okay, I’ll take your advice and go on exploring. See you later.”  
“You will, my beautiful princess, you will.” He blew her a kiss, took her glass and the empty fruit bowl.   
She took her shades, walked back to her little bungalow, changed into a wetsuit, renewed the sun crème on her face, the neck, hands and feet and held on for a moment to let everything dry. Even when she was in paradise there was no guarantee that she didn’t get sun burnt, so why take a risk? She didn’t want any risks in her life anymore.   
Like she didn’t want any murder in her life anymore. Who would have thought something like this could happen. Sara Sidle, the workaholic, the one who preferred to work than have time off and build a social life, she was since two weeks at this place and she didn’t miss anything. No city, no crime, no people. It wasn’t enough for her to leave Vegas, go to South America, work in the rain forest, it didn’t make the demons leave her alone, they were still there, they waited for her at night. But when she came here to this place with all its beauty, the nightmares stopped and she could sleep. She paid a high price for it, a day was two hundred dollar but for that price she got as many alcohol free cocktails and fruits salads as she liked. There was no housekeeper for her bungalow, nobody who washed her laundry, she had to take care of her twenty square yards castle herself. And she loved every inch of it. From the tiny bathroom to her living/bedroom to the huge veranda in front, where she sat in the evening to watch the sunset. It was paradise and she planed as long as possible to stay here.   
With her snorkeling mask, her fins and her camera she went to the beach. Time to explore a little bit more of the bay. 

It took her three hours before she came back ashore. Without worrying if they were still there when she came back, she dropped her snorkeling stuff in the sand and walked back to the bar.   
“I swear I’m seeing a mermaid right now.” Rhys, her bartender greeted her.   
“Be careful I heard they eat the hearts of human.”  
“No, that are sea witches and you’re way too pretty to be a sea witch.”  
“Maybe that’s how I catch my prey.” She sat on her stool and sent him a wide smile.   
“If that’s the case I might risk my heart to be yours. What can I get you, Honey?”  
“A salad, please.”  
“Want some bread with it?”  
“Of course.”  
“All right, I’ll satisfy your wishes – as usual.”  
“You’re just too good to be true. What would I do without you?”  
“You’d miss me because I make your holidays special.”  
“True.” She smiled. Without him her stay wouldn’t be as nice as it was. “Got a newspaper?”  
“Babe.” He sent her the same look he sent her all the days before when she asked for a newspaper. This wasn’t the time nor the place to read about what happened in the world. This was another world, one without war, hate and murderer. There wasn’t a newspaper in this place. If she wanted the truth, reality and everything that belonged to the rest of the world, she had to travel to the other side of the island. There was a small shop, an internet café and there were bits and pieces of life outside their paradise. People who came here came here because they didn’t want to know what was happening around them. They wanted time for themselves, they wanted to be away from everything that made them come here.   
“Maybe I want to have a look at the weather forecast.”  
“There will be sunshine as long as your heart is pure.”  
She wanted to tell him that her heart hasn’t been pure in a long, long time but she dropped the thought. This wasn’t the time nor the place for a conversation about her past. She wasn’t here to thing about that, she was here because she wanted to be away from everything that haunted her.   
“What about books? I could use another book.”  
“Tell me what you want and I’ll order it for you.”  
“Something that will suit the island and me.”  
“Robinson Crusoe?”  
“Only if you’ll be my Friday.”  
“I can be whatever you want me to be.” He put the salad and the bread in front of her. “Want something to drink too?”  
“Yes. How about a Caribbean Dream?”  
“Am I not your Caribbean dream? Want me to get myself in your glass so you can enjoy me and the taste of me?”  
“Sara Sidle is a vegetarian, she doesn’t eat nor drinks she any kind of meat. Not even a hot and spicy piece of bartender like you.”  
This voice hit Sara like a thunderstorm. She knew this voice. She knew whom it belonged to. How could she forget? This smooth and at the same time smoky voice, the arrogance that was in it, mixed with a faint hint of British that sometimes slipped through the words and made Sara think of old movies and books about kings. There was only one person in the entire world who sounded like this.   
“Sofia.” Sara turned to make sure her ears didn’t play a practical joke on her. They had never betrayed her and didn’t do it today. It was Sofia. Wearing a deep blue bikini, a straw hat and a short skirt. Her eyes were hidden behind big black shades, the long blonde hair flew softly in the wind and a smug smile was on her lips. Like most times. It was like she wasn’t surprised at all to see Sara here while the brunette had to struggle to keep her face straight.   
“You know my beauty?” Rhys asked and gave Sara her ordered cocktail.   
“Kind of, we worked together.” Sofia slipped on the stool next to Sara. It was still impossible for Sara to look into Sofia’s eyes, the blonde kept her shades on.   
“That’s a coincidence.”  
“Didn’t you tell me there are no such things as coincidences?”  
“With you my Golden Treasure, everything is possible.” He gave her a cocktail without asking her which one she wants. It seemed like Sofia was a well known guest here. And she had to be here longer than Sara. She didn’t know why, couldn’t put it into words but something about the blonde, the way she sat here, the way she walked, the way she…she was…, told Sara Sofia had spent more time here than she had. You could just see it, see it when people were new here. They were still driven by the force and obligations life put on their plate every day, they had a hard time to relax, to calm down, to find out what was important to them, what was necessary. After a few days you saw them not glazing at their watches not hurrying around, not swearing every morning because there was no newspaper, no stock report, no telephone and no internet. People who stayed here over a week were relaxed, they greeted each other, they didn’t bother when their hair wasn’t like it should be, they didn’t bother when they slept until noon, they didn’t bother when they couldn’t spend their day in shopping malls and everything was basic by being extraordinary at the same time.   
“Since when are you here?” Sofia turned to Sara.   
“Two weeks. You?”  
“Make a guess.”  
“Longer.”  
“Right.”  
“You won’t tell me for how long?”  
“Rhys?”  
“One year, three months, three weeks and six days. And I remember every single one of these days. In a very, very good way.”   
“You haven’t seen me every day.”  
“That doesn’t mean I didn’t wonder and think about you every day.”  
“Get out!” She laughed. A relaxed and happy laugh. Well, after one year at this place she had every reason to be relaxed and happy.   
“Wow. You live here?”  
“I work here.”  
“Golden Treasure is a colleague of mine.” The look Rhys sends Sofia tells exactly how happy he was about that. It was a look filled with love. Love not in a sexual way but a very deep love you had for a very close friend or a family member.   
“You’re a bartender?”  
“No. I’m a kind of tour guide.”  
“Pardon me?” There had to be a misunderstanding. Sofia was a tour guide? Sara found the idea of the blonde being a bartender already strange, to see her walking around with tourists on this island seemed to be impossible. Especially because she hadn’t seen any tourists on a tour. What could see here? What was worth a tour? The whole island was beautiful but nothing you needed a tour guide for.   
“I take people out to the reef for diving and snorkeling. I’m a certified diving instructor, Sara. I know it sounds crazy to you, but diving has been my hobby since high school.”  
“You should book some lessons with her, Beauty, she’s a really good teacher and can guide you to the best places around.” Rhys put a new cocktail in front of Sara, this time a non alcoholic one. “And you planed that anyway.”  
“I did?” Sara looked surprised at him. “I can’t remember I ever said that.”  
“Not with words, but you thought about it, were only too lazy to have a look for a teacher. Looks like heaven sent you an angel, or the sea a golden treasure. You know, when you find a treasure you can keep it.”  
“Really?”  
“Of course. Finder’s keepers.”  
“In that case I should take some diving lessons so I can dive for all those pirate treasure you tell me about every evening. Maybe your stories are true.”  
“They are all true, Beauty.”  
“Before you can start to dive for the treasure Rhys tells you about you need some theory lessons. Diving is more than jumping into the water and start an adventure. It’s like science, you have to read up on it, learn it before you can use it.”  
“Will I be able to go out into the water for a dive or will I spend my time reading? I’m on holidays and I don’t want to spend my time in a room and read or listen to a teacher.”  
“For how long will you be here?”  
“Rhys talked me into two more weeks yesterday.”  
“In that case you’ll be in the water. There’s a new course starting in three days…”  
“Golden Treasure, you can’t make her wait another three days, she’ll need a week for the theory, why don’t you give her the first lection today?” Rhys disagreed.  
“I can wait…” Sara didn’t want special treatment.   
“No you can’t. You spend every day snorkeling, you love the ocean and - even if that breaks my heart – you don’t have endless time on your hands. Give her some private lessons, Sofia.”  
“That’s the first time since I’ve arrived that you called me by my name.” Sofia said surprised. It felt strange to hear her name spoken by her friend.   
“That should tell you how serious I am.”  
“You don’t have to…” Sara tried again.   
“Shush, you heard that man. Who am I to deny him a wish? It’s the first favor he asks me for and I got so many from him. I hope you don’t have plans for this afternoon, you’ll get a book and your first lesson.”  
“But…”  
“Don’t you dare to fight with me, Sara Sidle. You don’t fight on Magical Beach, you take the offers somebody makes you and you’re grateful. That’s it. Besides you’ll pay me for the lesson, I’m doing my job.”  
“Okay.”  
“Good. Get yourself ready we’ll start right away.”  
“Didn’t you say I need a book…”  
“Rhys?”  
“It’s all yours, Beauty.” He handed Sara a book. “I’m the keeper of books. Not only novels also everything you need for your dive license, boat license and every other license you can make here. I’m your everything, Beauty.”  
“Looks like.” Sara smiled. That was a strange change of plans. Instead of another afternoon in the ocean, snorkeling, taking photos, she’d become a student and work on her dive license. She wondered if she would ever need this license again after she left Magical Beach. But leaving this place was definitely nothing she wanted to think about now. 

“Now that I had my first lesson and I can’t go back anymore you can tell me how much I’ve to pay you for the lessons and the license.” Sara closed her book. Three hours of private dive lessons, that was her afternoon for today. She had enjoyed it, despite all the thoughts she had before. Being a student of Sofia. What an awful thought. When they worked together in Vegas at the crime lab, she had problems to see the blonde as a colleague, leave alone as a former acting supervisor. Now she was her teacher, she told Sara what to do and Sara had to listen. Crazy world.   
“I take for a private lesson a hundred dollars usually.”  
“In that case this was my last lesson. I don’t want to imply that you’re not a good teacher but for the money you take per hour I can have half a day on this island and that’s priceless.” They sat under a palm, the perfect place to have a dive instruction lesson with a view on the ocean. If you felt bored by all the theory at some point you took a look at the ocean and knew right away why you did all this. You wanted to discover what was in the water, wanted to swim with al the fishes, find shells nobody else saw before you did and have the chance to come close to a turtle.   
“Does that mean you’ve no departure date yet?”  
“No. Well, I’ve two more weeks…”  
“But you don’t know if you’ll leave then.”  
“I want to stay, my bank account will tell me otherwise.”  
“What about work?”  
“I don’t have a job at the moment.” The way Sara said these words made it clear to Sofia the brunette didn’t want to explain any reasons to her. That was fine with Sofia. She wasn’t in a mood to tell Sara why she ended up here. They were here and that was the important thing. You don’t worry about the past when you have a present on Magical Beaches.   
“Do I have to pay you cash or will they add your money on my bill?”  
“You’ll get a personal bill from me.”  
“How comes?”  
“Because if I write you a bill about these three hours you’ll be charged with three hundred dollars. It’s a hundred dollars per hour.”  
“If that’s what I’ve to pay…”  
“Shut up! This isn’t the place to argue or fight and it’s not your decision what I charge you for these three hours. If I feel like charging you three hundred bucks I can do that and if I feel like I want three dollars I’ll do that. I know you hate it when you’re not in control but this is out of your handsl and you’ve to take what I give you. Get bitchy or be relaxed and enjoy the rest of your day, it’s all up to you.” Sofia got up. “Whatever you choose, I want you back here by ten tomorrow.”  
“Where are you going?”   
“Home.” Sofia took her empty glass of water, brought it back to the bar and walked away without looking back. She left Sara speechless.   
“Smug bitch.” Sara mumbled. She was left like a child in front of a shelf of candy by a mother who didn’t give a damn about if the child was crying for some chocolate. Worse, she was in Sofia’s hands. The blonde was right, it was her decision how much she charged Sara and if she decided it would be three hundred dollars for these three hours Sara had to pay it. That meant as well she paid for three hours dive instruction as much as for three more days in Magical Beach. A high price. She should take a look at her finances today and find out for how long she could stay here and when she had to go back to reality and find a new job. Whatever this job would be. Right now she had no idea what she wanted to work. Right now she wanted to stay here forever. Probably like everybody else did.

Sara got herself a new cocktail and made herself comfortable in one of the hammocks that were all over the beach under the palms. The perfect place to think and she had to think.   
There was a piece of her past here, a piece of Las Vegas. She came here because Magical beach was exactly not like Las Vegas and now she found herself remembered of her old hometown. She found herself thinking about work, about her former colleagues, cases, friends and relationships. Everything that connected her to Vegas, everything she wanted out of her life for good.   
It was over. All over. For good. No more Vegas, no more CSI, no more a life on the edge, no more dead bodies, no more families she had watch suffer because somebody took the one they loved away. For no reason. There weren’t any good reasons to kill a human. No matter what people told you, tried to explain themselves, there were no good reasons to kill.   
She had finished the chapter Las Vegas, put the book in a shelf and didn’t want to read it or even touch it again. Now it got thrown in her face, she had to put it up, had to face it and decide what to do with it. Throw it away, put it back or take a look inside again. Because no matter how much you didn’t want something anymore, when it was in front of your face you couldn’t resist to think at least about having a closer look at it again. You start to think about it, you start to remember, also good things and you feel like you need to see the good pages of the book again.   
What were the good pages of Las Vegas? Of course her colleagues, she missed them. Not that much anymore, she didn’t think of them on a daily base, but she missed them. They were her family. Grissom. She missed him too. Even if it didn’t work out with them, they had a good time and she was grateful for these months they spent together. She remembered little cat fights she had with Cath at the beginning, the fun she had with Nick and Greg’s little crush on her that amused her. She missed Warrick, her last time in Vegas for his funeral. And Brass, the way he tried to look after her like a father.   
But what about Sofia? Did she miss Sofia? She couldn’t tell. She never wasted a lot of thoughts about the blonde. Something made her mind stay away from her, made her push every thought away as soon as it came closer to her. Why was that? Couldn’t she stand the detective? Former detective now diving instructor. To be honest Sofia had never given her any reasons to be mad at her. But right from the beginning something deep inside Sara had pushed her away from the blonde. What was it? And why was it there?   
Today had been fine, she had no problems to talk to Sofia, listen to the things she explained. It was a little bit like working together on a project they both enjoyed. Even when Sofia was the instructor Sara had never the feeling she was telling her what to do. It was like she guided Sara through an unknown area, was happy to explain everything to her and answered all questions the brunette   
It was a good position to continue their partnership the next day. If Sara could pay the bill Sofia wrote for her. There was no way she would pay a Benjamin per hour. 

Wednesday

It was the first morning Sara woke up in Magical Beach with a plan for her morning. The first time she wasn’t free to choose what to do after breakfast. She expected to feel something like a little pressure but she woke up as relaxed as she did all the mornings before. Putting on a top and a knee long skirt over her bikini she walked to the bar for breakfast.   
“Good morning, Beauty. Did you sleep as good as you look?”  
“I slept better.”  
“Impossible.” Rhys smiled while he started to mix Sara’s breakfast cocktail. It was strange since she was here she hadn’t had any coffee, something she lived on, depended on, and she didn’t miss it. If anybody had told her a year ago one day she could consider a good breakfast and a good start in the day without a coffee she had called this person nuts. Now here she was, free of caffeine and happy.   
“Are you ready for your another lecture?”  
“I prefer to find out first what she charges. I can’t pay a Benjamin per hour.”  
“As far as I know my Golden Treasure she’ll make a reason-able for price. Whatever your relationship with her was before she is a fair woman and won’t try to ruin you.”  
“We’ll see. Thanks.” Sara took her cocktail and fruit salad. “How did you end up here, Rhys?”  
“I was born on the mainland, made my way through high school and college only to disappoint my parents when I told them I’d become a bartender. They had other plans for me, a doctor, a lawyer, anything but a bartender. It’s a job to get you through college, they used to say, not to live on. I worked as a bartender while I was in college and I loved it. I love to spend my day with people, watch then, talk to them, listen to their stories. It’s what I really like, what I’m good at.   
After I worked for a few months in a hotel the owner of Magical Beach saw me one evening when he stayed at the hotel. He asked me if I want to work for him, described this place and I told him, if it really looks like he said I’d take the job. He described a paradise I was sure he made most things up. When I came here I found out he didn’t make a single thing up, it was all true and even better. I took the job and now I’m allowed to spend my days here, mix cocktails, make salads, talk to beautiful women and enjoy an ocean most people can only dream of. I can live in paradise.  
My parents visit me frequently and since they’ve been here the first time, they know why I want to do this and nothing else. I come from a family that lived for a lot of generations in the Caribbean, this is like home. The culture of the Caribbean tribal is still a huge part of our life and we meet every evening on an island not too far away from here for ceremonies. But no place is as wonderful as this one. ”  
“You work hard to be in paradise.”  
“I do and I love it. That’s the most important thing, do something you truly enjoy. No matter if you make big money, work in a beautiful place like this or stand behind a counter of a fast food restaurant, surrounded by the smell of French fries, burger and fat the whole day. It’s all about what makes you happy and come back in the morning with a smile on a face.”  
“True.” She couldn’t agree more.   
“Does your job make you happy, Beauty?”  
“I don’t have a job anymore. I quit.”  
“Then it didn’t make you happy and you’re better off without it.”  
“Maybe. The thing is I need a new job because my bank account doesn’t refill itself.”  
He took a good look at her. “You’ll find what’s right for you, Sara. I’m sure about that.”  
The fact that he called her name for the first time made her believe it too. Since the first time, when she introduced herself as Sara he had called her only Beauty. Because it fitted her so well he had explained. Her amused comment he’d say that to all women got proofed wrong. He never called another woman Beauty, he had nicknames for all of them, no other one was Beauty. When she asked him why she was Beauty and not something else he gave her a smile and told her again that it fitted her best.   
“Thanks Rhys.”  
He blinked at her before his eyes moved over her shoulder. “Good morning Golden Treasure, can I serve you in any way?”  
“No thanks Rhys.” Sofia sat next to Sara. “Good morning.”  
“Morning.” Sara had to admit she wished she could start in her work day the way Sofia did. The blonde was relaxed, she looked like she had slept more than well and who could say about themselves that they could work in shorts, top and bar foot?   
“Ready for some more theory?”  
“Depends.”  
“On the bill.” Sofia knew exactly what Sara thought, it wasn’t difficult to find out.   
“I told you I won’t have another lesson if I can have another day here for two hours.”  
“So you want a solid amount now. Not a ‘don’t worry about it’ or anything like that. You want an amount to calculate.”  
“Yes.”  
“The whole course will cost you three hundred dollars, theory and five dives.”   
Sara had no idea if that was cheap or not but it sounded good to her. “All right.”  
“That means we’re ready for the next part? One hour theory then we’ll hit the water. I want to introduce you to your gear. It’s easier to learn the theory if you have a clue about how the real world looks like.”  
“Sounds good to me.” It actually did. Sara looked forward for another lesson and her first time in water with her gear. Another step closer to her goal to dive around the bay. 

Sara dropped on the sand and closed her eyes. Her legs were sore, her arms weren’t there anymore; at least she didn’t feel them anymore and her eyes burnt. She wasn’t able to move a single yard anymore.  
“Do you want to stay there like a stranded mermaid?”  
“Yes.”  
“You’ll get burnt in the sun, Sara. Come on, a few steps and you’re under a palm, can spend there the rest of the day with a cocktail and some salad. Or do I have to carry you?”  
For the split of a second Sara was tempted to tell Sofia to do so then her pride set in. It was impossible that she let Sofia come this close to her and it was even more impossible that she let her carry her. No way! Before that happened she would prefer to stay in the sun and end up like a well done steak. Or walk herself.  
“So?”  
“You touch me and I’ll get your head under water for five minutes.” Sara hissed, got on her knees, stayed there for a few seconds before she found the strength to get up. Slightly shaking and unsteady on her feet she made the first step.   
“Yeah, you look really scary.” Sofia laughed, took Sara’s diving gear and walked to the bar where they were awaited by Rhys.  
“How are my Golden Treasure and the Beauty?”  
“She’s more a Bitchy right now.”  
“Shut up!”  
“See.” Sofia chuckled. “I think she needs a cocktail.”  
“And a baseball bat to break the treasure. You can keep the pieces after I’ve shattered her, Rhys.”  
“She’s lovely, isn’t she?” Sofia asked.   
“Yeah I can tell the two of you have a very special relation-ship.”  
“One that’s over as soon as I think I can dive.”  
“As soon as you’ve the certification to dive.” Sofia corrected. “I won’t let you dive without the certification. You don’t pass all tests you won’t dive here.”  
“She’s the boss when it comes to dives, Beauty. She tells the boys to get you out of the water they will and you’ll be in trouble. Might even make them kick you off the island.”  
“She hasn’t change, she can’t fight her fights alone, always sends somebody else.”  
“I’m always in a position where I’ve people who will do what I want. Don’t be jealous because you’ve never been in such a position, Sara.”  
“I think the two of you should drink your cocktails.” Rhys stopped Sara’s reply. “Have a cocktail, get the heat of the sun out of your heads and then my Golden Treasure has to continue her work while my Beauty can stay for a salad.”  
“You better listen to him and don’t make him mad, he’s a voodoo priest.” Sofia said and took a sip of her cocktail.  
“I don’t believe in such things as voodoo.”  
Rhys cocked a brow. “Science is only one side of the universe, Beauty.”  
“It’s my universe, Rhys.”  
“I might introduce you to my universe.”  
“There’s no way I’ll give you some of my hair for your voodoo doll. Take the hair of the blonde, I’m more than happy to stab into that doll a few times.”  
“She’s insulting me the whole morning, Rhys.”  
“It’s her way to tell you she’s happy you gave her such a discount and let her make her dive license. As beautiful she is, as talented she might be in her job, she isn’t good with people. We have to teach her a few things about how to thank people proper.”  
“You can do that, I’ve to go now. Take care of my student I want her back tomorrow.”  
“What about your lunch?”  
“I take these.” Sofia took two bananas. “No time for more. Somebody is waiting for me.”  
“Must be somebody special.”  
“Yeah, a two hundred dollars per hour client.”  
“That doesn’t sound like diving instructor anymore.” Sara said dryly.   
“Make sure her doll really looks like her.” Sofia grinned at Rhys and walked away.   
“Bye my Golden Treasure, take care of yourself.” He cleaned a few cocktail glasses before he placed a small sundae in front of Sara.   
“A two hundred dollar client?”  
“Yes, a two hundred dollar client and no she isn’t doing anything else than teaching him how to dive. He’s a VIP, living on the other side of the island in one of the bigger bungalows.”   
Sara had seen these bungalows. There were maybe five of them, all four times bigger than her own bungalow and as she was told they came with two bedrooms, a huge bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, a pool (what do you need a pool for when you’ve got the ocean in front of your bungalow?) and a – as they called it – fairy. Somebody, who was the whole day around to please you, make and bring you tea, cocktails, food, cleaned your bungalow and carried your towel if you felt like going for a swim at the ocean.   
“Do they get anything special for this price? I mean like a really nice spot for a dive?”  
“No, they get the same you get. Usually she has two students at the same time, four hours a day so that both pay a hundred dollars each. The VIPs are alone, they pay the full price. If you want more than the basic at this place, Beauty, you have to pay a lot of money as you might have fond already.”  
“Yeah.” Most things were included, her non alcoholic cocktails, two alcoholic cocktails per day, the fruits, salad, ice cream also the three kayaks in the bay. If they were taken and you wanted another one or any other thing for your water sport you had to pay and the prices were high.   
“Even in paradise nothing is for free.”  
“No it isn’t. How many clients does she have?”  
Rhys smiled. “You can ask her that yourself.”  
“No, I prefer to talk to you.”  
He shook his head, still smiling. “So beautiful and so stubborn. There are days when she has eight to ten hours with diving instructions, other days are free. Depends on the guests. We’re not that busy this week, from next month on we’ll be fully booked which will make her busy. I don’t know how her bookings look like but I expect she’ll have her share of guests.”  
“Like you will.”  
“Yes, I’ll have some more people here too. What doesn’t mean you won’t be my Beauty anymore.”  
“I won’t be here anymore. The last day of this month is my last day here.”  
“Maybe I can make you stay longer. I did that already once.”  
“That time I had money and could stay in my bungalow. Like you said this place will be fully booked I’ll leave you.”  
“I’ll have use some voodoo magic to make you stay.”  
Sara laughed. “I told you I don’t believe in such things.”  
“And I told you I’ll introduce you to my universe. Your cooperation isn’t even needed. Just tell me if you want to stay longer and the magic will find a way for that.” He was serious now, no laughter, no tease, no mock. Which made Sara serious too. Did she want to stay longer? Could she imagine to stay longer? Of course she could but she couldn’t afford it. She ran out of money, had no job to go back to and needed some money to survive in the ‘real world’ until she found a new job.   
“If your magic can also solve my financial problems that will come with a longer stay I’m more than happy to stay.”  
“We’ll work something out, Beauty. I promise.” 

After a little nap in a hammock Sara took her wetsuit and her snorkeling gear and went back into the water. Slowly her fins took her away from the sandy beach to the first coral. Only a few fishes were here, only a little bit of color. Too many careless people had stepped on the sensitive underwater world and destroyed most of it. It was the usual problem with human when they found something they liked they had to go there so often until they had destroyed it. It seemed to be impossible for them to simply keep a distance and watch how nature and animals lived together in perfect harmony, how they created a paradise that was a treat for all senses to watch. No they had to touch it, step on it, take pieces away, leave dirt behind and kill everything with every visit they made. It made Sara angry whenever she saw this.   
She had seen the same in jungles and rain forests in South America. The green lung, the masterpiece of environment, hundreds and thousands of different animals, flowers and trees live together at the same place, everything is perfect until the humans arrive and destroy it. To get more meadows, to get more wood, more space for cities, kill animals for money, for their fur, because they could be a threat or just annoy them. The human being was the most vicious killer she had ever seen and nobody prosecuted him. It was all right, it was right because a human was above everything. She hated this arrogance.   
When she came to a coral she couldn’t really see anymore because it was too deep for her she tried it with short dives. It was about time to get her dive license so she could appreciate the corals better and longer. When she looked to the right she froze. There was a turtle! And it swam relaxed only two yards next to her. Keeping the distance Sara followed the turtle for a little while before it disappeared in the deep water. That was definitely the best experience so far!   
Another experience was waiting for her when she paid attention to where she currently was. Very far away from the shore. She must have been swimming straight away from the beach into the ocean. It wasn’t like she couldn’t see the beach anymore but it was a distance she had to swim. Quite a distance. A look around told her she was close to the island she wanted to go to yesterday. What did Rhys say, it was private property? Bad luck for the owner, Sara needed a little break before she could swim back to her beach. Whoever owned the island had to live with that.   
She swam to the island, got on the beach, pulled off her fins and snorkeling mask and sat down. Her legs needed a break. The way to here had been easy, she had been rested and the currant helped her to come here fast. Plus the corals, the turtle and her never-ending curiosity about the ocean and what was going on there.   
An all too familiar sound made her stop breathing. Somebody had loaded a gun not too far away from her. Was the owner of the island around, had seen her and was not happy about her little break? That was understandable to a point to load a gun before you talked to whoever was sitting on the beach without a weapon was something else.   
“Hold on, I can explain why I’m here!” She said before she dared to turn. You never knew who was behind you with the gun, how loose the finger on the trigger was. Maybe a little move was enough to make him shoot.   
“This is private property.”  
A very strange voice. Sara wasn’t sure if it was a man or a woman and if this person was a native English speaker.   
“I know. I’m sorry for trespassing, I…I was snorkeling and when I paid attention to where I was I was in front of the island. The way back to the main beach is long, all I want is a little break before I swim back. I swear I haven’t been sniffing around or…” She stopped when something cold got placed in her neck. This couldn’t be true. Was she about being shot for sitting on a beach? That couldn’t be real. She had explained how she ended up here and way and that she wanted to leave soon.  
“I…I…can leave right away if you want…”  
“No!”  
“I…okay…uhm…don’t shoot, please. I’m sorry I…”  
“Too late.”  
“But I…you…please…” Sara closed her eyes. This person was serious. She would die because she sat on a beach of somebody else. Okay, she had seen people kill for far less but she didn’t want to die like this.   
“Open your eyes, Sara.”  
“What?” Surprised she opened her eyes. She wasn’t dead, nobody shot her and she knew this voice. “Sofia!” It wasn’t a stranger who was willing to kill her, it was Sofia who had been talking to her. A very amused Sofia.   
The blonde stood in frond of her, laughing loud when she saw Sara puzzled face and had to hold her belly.   
“That’s not funny!” When the relief was gone fury set in. Sofia had known it was Sara and she had scared her to death, had put a gun in her neck, had…where was the gun? Sara didn’t see one. It had to be here somewhere, she had felt it in her neck.   
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Rhys told me you wanted to swim here and that he told you it’s private property. Apparently you don’t care about that.”  
“It was like I said, I was snorkeling and…what are you doing here? Does your special client live here?”  
“No, I live here.”  
“Pardon me?”  
“You got that right, this is my island and my gun you felt in your neck…well I brought it especially for you.” Sofia pulled a bottle of beer out of the little bag, that hung around her shoulder and gave it to Sara.   
“First you want to shoot me and then you give me a beer?”  
“I never wanted to shoot you.”  
“Don’t play me, I heard how you loaded your gun, I’m very familiar with that sound.”  
“Of course you are.” Sofia sat down, got a beer herself, took a light to open it and handed the lighter to Sara. “Drink your beer before it gets warm.”  
“I feel more like smacking the bottle over your head.”  
“Understandable but don’t you think that would be a waste of beer? Why not drink your cold beer and smack the empty bottle over my head later?”  
“You’re mocking me.”  
“Yes.” Sofia chuckled. This little joke made her day. Sara had been priceless. Okay, it was a mean, a little bit at least, but so much fun.   
“And you pointed a gun at me I can call the police…”  
“Did you see a gun?”  
“I heard it.”  
“So your ears are working again? After they didn’t work when you got told this is private property.”  
“It’s not a reason to point a gun at somebody who needs a rest before she swims back and leaves you and your island alone.”  
“That’s in the eye of the beholder if there ever were a gun. Besides you can’t swim back now.”  
“Why?”  
“Because it’s outgoing tide, you would end anywhere but not at the beach you want to swim to.”  
“I prefer to give it a try than being shot.”  
“One more time for the brunettes: you won’t get shot here. You can have a shot glass that’s it. Got that?”  
“I don’t trust you.”  
“That’s a pity you should trust your diving instructor your life can depend on me when we’re under water.”  
“After today I’m not sure if I want you as my diving instructor anymore.”  
“All right, you can have your five minutes crying school girl if you need that. If not you can get your ass up and follow me. In fact if you still want to smack your bottle over my head you should do that because I’ll leave now.” Sofia got up and walked towards the palms.   
Sara turned her head back to the water. Outgoing tide. She preferred to fight with an outgoing tide than to spend another minute with Sofia. With one deep sip she finished her beer, left the bottle in the sand, took her snorkeling gear and went back in the water. There was no way she would spend another minute here. Not with this blonde….lunatic and her gun!   
Furious she started to swim, putting all her anger into it. Who the fuck did Sofia think she was? Did she think she could play Sara like she had played her suspects? Not with her, she could stay on her bloody island and if it would be the way Sara wanted it she had never to leave it again. Stay there for rest of her life on her private property island.   
Sara didn’t need Sofia as a diving instructor. She could make her license somewhere else and come back to here. After she had made sure that Sofia was far, far away. Without this smug blonde bitch Magical Beach was paradise with her it was a hotter version of hell. Didn’t they advertise this place with you don’t have to worry, nothing will bother you and you can enjoy each day of your stay? Well, they had to get rid off that blonde sea witch first. Arrogant, smug, self-loving bitch.   
It took Sara a while before she realized she wasn’t getting closer to her beach. Far more the opposite she swam further away. Something was couldn’t be possible she swam in the direction of the beach but whenever she moved her arms and legs to get a yard closer she was pulled away two. The outgoing tide. By now she was even behind Sofia’s island.   
Panic started to crawl up. She had to do something. If you are caught in a current don’t try to fight it try to get out of it by swimming parallel to it. The problem was this wasn’t a current it was the outgoing tide and even when she tried to swim parallel to it there was nothing to swim to. She turned, tried to see somebody or something. Maybe there was a boat around, somebody who could get her out of the water. Or another island she could try to swim to.   
Blue ocean, blue ocean, blue ocean and a beach that was disappearing faster and faster. She was caught and she had no idea how to get herself out of this. It wasn’t only that she was pulled straight into the ocean, that she was likely to drown when she had no power left to swim, it was much more likely that a shark made her it’s dinner before she ran out of power. That wasn’t the way she wanted to die. She didn’t want to die at all. She didn’t survive Natalie and the abduction, the night under the car with the rising water and the day in the desert with the hot and cruel sun to end up as a shark bite. No way!   
Calling up all her power she started to swim in an forty-five degree angle to the beach. This wasn’t parallel but it was the best she could do. She had to reach the damn shore, she didn’t want to die! One, two, one, two, one, two. The beach didn’t get any closer. Again. One, two, one, two, one, two. Nothing. It had to work out somehow. She needed more power, had to be stronger. One, two, one, two, one, two. Damn it, she had swallowed more than a pint of water. Salty. Disgusting. And it had her made getting under the surface for a second. She was losing her fight, she had to be stronger.   
Another wave and more water. Sara coughed. Her eyes started to burn and her arms and legs began to feel tired. Don’t give up, you can’t stop fighting now. You never stopped fighting before you got out of trouble. You’re a fighter you can do it. You will make it.  
She closed her eyes. Maybe she could concentrate better when she saved the energy she needed to get the water out of her eyes. Plus her position at the moment was discouraging. She didn’t want to see how she got pulled away further and further. She didn’t want to see how she lost yard by yard, she didn’t…something grabbed her wet suit and pulled her out of water. Was that a shark? It grabbed her, threw her up before it bit her to death? There was something hard behind her, her back crashed on it. She tried to fight, tried to use her arms and legs. She wouldn’t die without a fight. The last thing she could do was giving this little fucker some pain somehow. She would find a way to…  
“For Christ’s sake, stop waving your arms like you’re fighting the devil and help me to get you in the boat!”  
Either she suffered from a hallucination or the sharked talked to her with Sofia’s voice or the blonde was really there and held her like a huge fish that tried to do everything to get back into the water. She made the decision to settle with the last possibility it was the only one that could safe her.   
Coughing she grabbed the side of the boat and tried to climb inside while Sofia pulled her in. With one big BANG she ended on the wooden floor, coughed more, eyes closed and face down because her arms and legs were too tired to support her anymore. She was save. She was in a boat. She wouldn’t drown, wouldn’t be eaten be sharks. She would survive. Ouch her arms and legs. And her eyes. Her throat. She had no idea how much water she had swallowed but it more than it was good for her.   
Not moving she stayed on the ground of the boat until she realized it wasn’t moving anymore. For a short moment she panicked that the engine didn’t work anymore and she would get pulled out to the ocean in the boat. She would dehydrate or starve or eaten by sharks because she was sure they could destroy the boat.   
Something got under her armpits and pulled her up.   
“Come on Arielle, time to leave the water and get back to the beach. I think that’s safer for you.”  
With shaking legs Sara made a few steps, was more pulled out of the boat than she climbed and ended in the warm sand again. Holly earth, it had never been so wonderful to feel the earth beneath her.   
“Sara, are you all right or shall I call a doctor?”  
A doctor? No, no doctor she was…”I’m all right.”  
“Okay. Come on, we get you out of the sand.” Sofia pulled Sara up and carried her more than she supported her.   
Sara wasn’t able to do or to say anything. She felt like she was in a world filled with fog and clouds. Everything seemed to be so unreal. She had no idea where she was, had no idea what she was doing or what was about to happen to her. She tried to walk and that’s it.   
Suddenly she was laid down on something. Something soft. This wasn’t sand. This was more comfortable. Where was she? She wished she could open her eyes and look but they burnt. And she didn’t have the energy for that. The only thing she could do was staying like this and wait for a moment to regain power.   
Something warm and wet was on her eyes, washed them. It took the salt away, took away the pain. What a nice feeling. Then something cold and fresh was sprinkled on her lips. Water. Real water and not ocean water. There was more. Thirstier than she thought she had been Sara drank the water until it was empty or gone. She wasn’t sure.   
“Better?” Sofia’s voice was back.   
“Yes.”   
“Good.”   
Carefully Sara opened her eyes. She was in a house. Or a bungalow. Or another kind of building. And laid on a bed. There was a table with an empty glass. Pictures on the wall, a wardrobe, chairs.   
“Where am I?”  
“Not with Nemo and also not inside a whale. You’re at my place.”  
“How…why…where…”  
“I watched you when I left. I knew you’re awful stubborn and weren’t likely to listen what I had suggest you to do. When I saw you in the water and caught in the outgoing tide I knew you couldn’t get yourself out of that. I got my boat and followed you. You could have died, Sara. Never ever do something fucking stupid like this again, do you hear me?”  
This was the best chance for Sara to be mad again. She didn’t like it when people tried to tell her what to do and what not to do. But the concern more than the fury in Sofia’s voice let her only nod.   
“Good. Then we can end this topic, no need to talk about for longer. How do you feel?”  
“Better. Thanks.”  
“Anything that hurts?”  
“My arms and legs. Or it’s more like I can barely feel them because they’re so exhausted.”  
“I bet they are, you did a hell of a swim show out there. That’s it? Anything else that doesn’t feel normal?”  
“That I’m in your house.”  
Sofia chuckled. “Well, that’s unusual and has never happened before, indeed. My bet is you’ll survive that too. Maybe not as good as the ocean but you’ll make it.”  
“I guess so.” Sara smiled a bit. “I’m sorry.”  
“What for?”  
“For being stupid and ending up in the outgoing tide. I should have listened to you.”  
“Didn’t we agree on not talking about it anymore? It happened, nobody got hurt and it won’t happen again. Or do plan to give it another try to swim back to the main island?”  
“No. Not before the high tide isn’t here.”  
“That will take a few hours. You can stay and swim if you want but I can also take you back with the boat.”  
“Sounds good.”  
“How does some food sound?”  
“Very good.”  
“In that case let’s grab a cold beer and get out. I had the fire on a while ago and left some potatoes in the blaze. And as a special treat there should be some fresh bread ready to eat.”  
On shaking legs Sara followed Sofia out. The home of the blonde was a bungalow twice the size of Saras. There was a terrace going around the whole building and their destination was the side that faced only the ocean. You could watch for miles and saw nothing else than water, water and water. No island, no boat, nothing.   
“Nice. I could be there somewhere now.” Sara looked at the water. She had been in there somewhere. Had fought, was about to lose. The current had been stronger than she had imagined. The power of nature, it had almost killed her. That’s what happen if you act without thinking and went to places you don’t belong to.   
“Sara.”   
She felt Sofia’s hand on her should and got out of her thoughts.   
“You are not there, you are here. You are safe.”  
“I..I know.” Why was her voice shaky? Why had she the feeling there were tears fighting their up and out of her eyes? She was safe, there was no reason to behave like a little girl that had been scared of the boogey man. She could get a grip and pull herself together. She was a grown up woman, a member of the law enforcement, she had survived worse things and…  
“Hey.” Sofia pulled her in her arms and held her tight.   
Maybe it had been too much. Too much to handle and stay cool. Sara couldn’t stop the tears anymore and with the tears came sobs and she started to tremble. She had almost lost her life, had risked it for no reason. Just because she was stubborn and stupid.   
“I had almost died.”  
“You didn’t die, you’re safe and fine.”  
“I…there wasn’t much missing before it had been under water and drowned.”  
“You were never in danger to drown. I told I had watched you. I would have never let anything happen to you.”  
“You could have been too late, too far away, too slow.”  
“Hey, I’m never too late, too far away or too slow. The only reason why I didn’t got you out of the water was because you had tried to fight me if I had. I know your stubborn head, you don’t give in easily. Not if there might be a chance to make it without my help.”   
“I’m sorry.”  
“You are alive, you are fine and there is nothing you have to be sorry about. As long as you won’t try that again.”  
“I won’t. Private property, I’ve no business to be here again so I won’t end up in the outgoing tide again.”  
“Why don’t we settle for a compromise? The next time you want to come here to visit me you take a boat. If you end up in a currant on a boat you won’t drown. And you tell Rhys that you wanna come here so he can have an eye on you until you’re safe with me. I’ll make sure you get back home safely and nothing will happen anymore. Deal?”  
“Why?”  
“Because that way you won’t be a shark bait.”  
“I mean why do you want me here?”  
“Because I enjoy my time with you when you’re not bitching around and would like to spend some time with you. We haven’t seen each other in quite a while. I know we were never close but that shouldn’t be a reason not to meet for a beer and a barbecue. I can cater a vegetarian too.”  
“But…”  
“Stop looking for excuses, simply say no if you don’t want. Don’t make everything difficult, Sara.” Sofia’s voice wasn’t annoyed it was still soft and friendly. It calmed Sara. Made her feel better.   
“Maybe I can bring a fruit salad.”  
“Sounds good.” Sofia smiled. “Now, why don’t you open the beer while I have a look for our potatoes and the bread? I’ve no idea about you but I’m starving.”  
“Me too.” Sara admitted. Fighting for her life had made her very hungry. More than she had realized before Sofia had asked her. 

“Beauty, Beauty, Beauty, didn’t I tell you to stay away from that Island?” Rhys smiled when Sara sat at the bar. Sofia had taken her back to the main island in her boat and left after Sara was safe in the warm sand. All under the watchful eyes of Rhys. Did this man never have time off?   
“Most people tell me I’m really bad in taking orders.”  
“Looks like.” He wanted to prepare a cocktail for her but Sara shook her head.   
“No more cocktails, Rhys, I’m fine, thanks. I just wanted to say good night to you.”  
“Do I get a good night kiss?”  
“No.” Sara laughed. “They told us not to tip the employees.”  
“Bugger. Have a good night, Beauty. And try not to have too many nightmares, everything is fine.”  
She looked surprised at him. Did he know what had almost happened to her?  
“Rhys, how…”  
“Shush, go to bed. It’s over and you’re fine. Leave it like this and already remember everything happens for a reason.” He stopped her with a smile.   
“Did she…?”  
“Beauty, have a good night.” He blew her a kiss and turned to another guest.   
For a split of a second she wanted to go to him, ask him why he knew all these things, what Sofia told him. But then she made the decision she didn’t want to push him. Maybe he had seen her struggling in the water, called for help, called Sofia. She had no idea. And like both had said: it was over, time to forget it.   
She went in her bungalow, had a short shower, brushed her teeth and dropped on her bed.   
What a day. It felt like the bed was moving, like she was still in the current of the outgoing tide, still moving in a direction she didn’t want to go to. Leave it and forget it. These words were easy to say but hard to live by. How was she supposed to forget it? Her stubbornness, her stupidity had almost killed her.   
Sara wanted to thank Sofia. How do you thank a person who saved your life proper? Her life was priceless there was nothing she could buy or do to get even with the blonde. Nothing. No flowers, no bottle of wine, no money, nothing. Plus, she didn’t really know Sofia. She had no idea what the blonde liked, disliked, enjoyed, what bored her. They worked together for three years and Sara knew as much as nothing about Sofia Curtis, former detective Curtis, former CSI Curtis, former acting supervisor Curtis. Everything she thought she knew about Sofia was wrong. When she thought Sofia was interested in Grissom he told her there had never been more than a friendship and a respect for the other one. When she thought Sofia went back to the police department because she couldn’t stand working for somebody rather than giving the commands she found out Sofia was a team player and didn’t react like she was something better than her former colleagues. And now? Sara had no idea why Sofia left the police force to become a diving instructor, she had a few ideas why, all not nice and all were gone after the blonde pulled her out of the water.   
Maybe this was a chance to find out who Sofia Curtis really was. What she liked, what made her happy and how Sara could thank her. 

Thursday

This night was the first night Sara slept bad. She tossed around, woke up a few times, at least once with a loud scream. Nightmares. Nightmares of the near death. In her dreams she wasn’t rescued, she drowned slowly and painful. Inch by inch her body sank deeper and deeper, she saw a fish swimming by, it looked like it laughed at her, told her it was her own fault. The next time she was in the water, didn’t see the island anymore when she felt something sharp grabbed her right foot and pulled her under water. Pain was mixed with panic, the water around her became red and when she looked down she saw she had no right leg anymore. It was gone. The only thing left was her tight and so much blood. When she tried to swim back up she saw she swam directly in the open mouth of a shark. Sharp teeth, some had parts of Sara’s leg left and a dark black throat were her last destiny. There was no way she could escape her death, no way, she was dead, dead, dead.  
When she dragger herself under the shower it was almost eight. The sun was up, shone and everything seemed to be as perfect as it was yesterday morning. The only thing that had changed was that Sara felt like she got ran over by a train. And she didn’t feel sorry that she had to wait a little bit for her next dive instruction. This morning Sofia was teaching two new guests how to dive. That gave her the chance to…yeah, what to do? She felt like…go back to bed, pull the blanket over her head and hide there for the rest of the day. Maybe her nightmares wouldn’t sneak up on her during daytime. Maybe she could get some sleep now. Heaven knew she needed some, there was no way she could leave her bungalow the way she looked right now. She was a disaster and there wasn’t enough make-up in her bathroom to make her look a little bit normal.   
After another hour of tossing around, not being able to sleep she left the bed. Time to face the day. Or at least have some-thing to eat. She had ignored the sound coming out of her stomach for a while, it got louder and louder and she knew there was no way it left before she hadn’t put anything to eat in it. For a reason. The last time she had something to eat was in the evening with Sofia, over twelve hours ago.   
“Don’t tell me how I look I know it myself.” She greeted Rhys when she sat down at the bar. If she had anything to eat she would have stayed in her bungalow.   
“Beauty.” She simply said and gave her a cocktail.   
“Grumpy suits me better today.”  
He bent down and gave her something she couldn’t identify right away.   
“What’s that?”  
“This.” He took the little green stone, lifted it up. “Is something that will make sure you’ll be fine soon and stay fine. I know.” He continued when she wanted to say something. “You are a scientist and you live in that world, love it because it’s a world you know, you feel safe in.” From somewhere he took a leather strap, got it through a little hole in the stone. “But just because you feel safe and comfortable in one world it doesn’t mean you will feel unsafe or uncomfortable in another one. The magic of life is to experience as many different things as possible. Sure you don’t have to try everything, things that will endanger you, things that are the opposite of what you believe in, things that disgust you can stay out of your world. But there are no reason to keep something out you don’t really know. There’s more that matches to science than lists, computers and numbers. Science and psychology, science and economy, science and paranormal things. I know that one and one makes two and there’s nothing that will change that, it’s a thing you can’t change. But I’m sure you’ve experience some moments in your life when things happened just because you thought of them hard enough, that you succeeded not because of science but because of the strength of you believe and thoughts.” He stepped out of bar, went to Sara, pushed her has gently away and knot her stone with the leather strap around her neck so that the stone touched her upper chest.   
“You don’t have to keep it, don’t have to believe it, all I ask you for is be a little bit open for things you don’t know everything about.” The whole time he spoke his words were serious and soft, they comforted her in a way she hadn’t experienced before. Sure the sound of how people talked to her impacted her mood and reactions towards them somehow, made her happy, sad, mad or curious, his words simply made her feel good, like everything would be good at the end of the day.   
“Thanks Rhys.”   
He pulled her in her arms and it was like something hit her. She felt warmth, she felt love, she felt…she had no idea what it was exactly. Something was there. Like she was sure for a second that the stone he had tied around her glowed and sent hot waves from her chest to her feet. Like there was electricity.   
Before she could pulled back out of surprise he let her out of his arms, the heat and the other thing was gone and her body was back to normal. And she was confused, not sure if that was real what she felt or if it was all imagination.   
Rhys smiled knowingly. “Some things are real because your heart feels them, Sara.” He went back to his work place.  
“Did you…” There was no reason to ask him if he felt the same, the way he looked at her, his words, everything told her, he had felt the same. More, he knew that would happen. He felt her surprise, how it confused her and comforted her in a strange way.   
“You’re hungry, I’ll get you a salad, bread and a big sundae. You need some energy for your lesson later. And I’ll prepare a fruit salad for your barbecue tonight.”  
“Is there anything Sofia doesn’t tell you?”  
“No. But she tells me without words, doesn’t know that she tells me all these things. There’s a little scientist deep inside her who stops her from believing entirely. Nothing wrong with that, not everybody has to believe as long as he or she doesn’t fight the obvious. It’s a believe and in contrary to science there isn’t only right or wrong. A believe gives everybody the chance to make their own truth.”  
“Which truth is mine?”  
“You can answer this question yourself, Beauty.” He put the salad and bread in front of her. “Just listen inside yourself and you’ll find out.” 

“Sorry I’m late.” Sofia dropped a bag next to Sara’s blanket.   
“Don’t worry about it, that’s all right.” Sara turned to face Sofia better. She had spent the last two hours on her blanket in the shade, feet in the sun and a new book to read. Rhys’ decision for her was good, she had already read seventy pages and loved every word of it.   
“I had to give another VIP an hour to remember the most important things.”  
“He pays better than I do.”  
“That doesn’t make him more important to me.”  
“Don’t let your boss hear that.”  
“I’m my own boss. Nice stone. Suits your eyes.” She pointed at the green stone.   
“Rhys gave it to me. Apparently the stone will make sure I’m fine. Your voodoo priest wants me safe.”   
“We all want that. Are you ready for some diving or is your book better?”   
Sara knew what Sofia really asked. She wanted to know if Sara was ready to go into the ocean again or if she needed some more time after yesterday.   
“Ready. I bring my blanket and book back to my bungalow and we can start. Hopefully they won’t step on us.” In the bay were a group of people playing a kind of water war with balls in the water, just where Sara and Sofia usually started their dives.  
“If you want we can dive somewhere else.” Sofia looked at the bay for a moment. “Why don’t you get some of your stuff together, I get us a boat and we change from the main beach to my island? Nobody will bother us there. And if you take your tooth brush, your sleep shirt and your teddy bear you can stay over, we have a barbecue later, a few drinks and start tomorrow morning with the next lesson. I promise you a dive in the early morning is much better than one in the afternoon. You see much more animals at that time of the day. We could make it your first real dive.”  
That was a catch-22. Sara’s first impulse was to say no, she didn’t want to stay over at Sofia’s place. Then she remembered about her plan to get to know Sofia better to find out what she liked and find something to thank her. She could only find out what the blonde liked when she spend time with her. And it wasn’t like it was a punishment. Plus the idea of an early morning dive was more than tempting.   
“Okay…and I don’t have a teddy bear.”  
“I’ll remember that.” Sofia smirked. “Get your things, I get our gear in the boat.”  
Sara wanted to answer something because she felt Sofia was amused about her comment but she made the decision she’d swallow that and get her things.   
Blanket and book ended on bed, she grabbed her sleep shirt, some underwear, a shirt, shorts, her bathroom bag and held on. It felt like she missed something. What was it? She had every-thing she needed for sleepover what could possible be missing? Her eyes ran over the bungalow and stuck on her suitcase. It was empty, everything Sara owned was in her little sideboard and the wardrobe...besides one thing.   
She got the suitcase on her bed, turned the number lock to the right combination and opened it. There it was. Her little treasure. A box with six little bottles of wine she had made herself during one of trips in South America. Three bottles of red wine, three bottles of white wine. Each of them unique because each was made by her, she even created the label for it. Maybe they could have a bottle of these tonight while they ate. The bottles were supposed to be for special moments, what could be more special than having them with the one who saved her life? With a smile she packed a bottle of red wine in her bag, locked the suitcase again and pushed it under her bed. Now she was ready to go.   
When she walked to the boat she found Sofia surrounded by two guys who were obviously hitting on the blonde, trying to get themselves in her boat.   
“Sorry guys, all seats are taken.” The smile she sent them was amused.   
“Come on, I can see a free spot right next to you.” The tall black haired guy said. His eyes were hidden behind shades, he wore red shorts and was very well build. His friend looked the same just with longish brown hair.   
“It has a reservation.”  
“Who can possibly be a better company than we are?”  
“She.” Sofia pointed at Sara. “That was quick, give me your stuff.” She took Sara’s bag and placed it in a big plastic box.   
“Looks like we could have a party for four.” Mister brown hair grinned.   
“I don’t think so. This isn’t a party this is work. I’m her teacher.”  
“You could teach me also something if you like.”  
“Sure, do you have a dive license already and want to upgrade it or are you a beginner? Ever dove in the ocean, in a pool?”  
“I love to dive but not into water.”   
“Sorry, I only do water diving, for all other dives you have to find somebody else. Have a nice evening, boys.” She started the engine after Sara sat down. “Oh and don’t try to follow us, the outgoing tide is too strong to swim further away from the shore and it would also get you in the kayak and pull you into the open sea, no matter how strong your muscles are. Mother nature is stronger. Bye-bye.” She sent them one last smile and guided her boat away from the beach.   
“They had so many plans with you.”  
“They can make their plans with somebody else.”  
“Yeah but you’re the dive instructor and they wanted to dive.”  
“They wanted to dunk their biscuit and they can do that with somebody else. I’m not available.”  
“Not?”  
“No, I’m taken by you. You booked the last course for today and also a barbecue. Rhys gave me the fruit salad and the order to take good care of you.”  
“What did you tell him?”  
“That as a former detective I always take care of my former CSI.”  
“He liked that?”  
“He kissed me good-bye and told me to have fun. So I guess he was fine with my explanation. Are you?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good. And I hope you did your homework, I want to finish the theory tomorrow. We’ll have a look over the two chapters you were supposed to learn, repeat it and when everything is clear we get through the next two before we start a little dive.”  
“Sounds like some work.”  
“You’ll be hungry when we have our barbecue.” 

“Potato?”  
“Yes, thanks.” Sara took the potato. She had been surprised when she saw that Sofia lit a fire before they started their theory but when the blonde put some potatoes and another dough for bread into the blaze she knew why. It would take some time before they could eat them.   
“You’re welcome. You did good today, Sara.”  
“I’ve a very good teacher.”  
“I takes more than a good teacher to remember all the things you’ve heard, seen and read the last days. And it takes a lot more than a good teacher to back into the water and dive.”  
“There was no reason to be afraid I knew I had my own lifeguard with me.” That wasn’t entirely true. There had been a few moments when Sara felt more than uneasy. When she put on her gear and walked into the water she felt for a moment she was back in the current. When she dove she thought of her nightmares, of drowning, sharks. It took some willpower to push these thoughts away and concentrate on diving.   
Sofia knew that but she didn’t say a word.   
“So your VIPs shuffled your timetable around?”  
“A little bit. Usually I’ve them from ten to two each day but tomorrow is a volleyball match on and they want to play that. So I’ve been asked to reschedule our appointment to the afternoon and will see them from four to eight. Before that there are two people who booked a single hour each.”  
“Plus a former CSI in the early morning.”  
“Yes.”  
“You’re busy.”  
“There were days with more work. From next month on there will be more people around and I’ll be really busy but that’s all right. They pay good money.”  
“Are you the only diving instructor here?”  
“No, Andrew is a dive instructor too. He works mostly when we’re busy or I’m away for some vacation. It might sound crazy but sometimes it’s good to go away from here for a few days into the real world.”  
“Hard to believe.”  
“I know. You can appreciate it more when you’ve been away for a week or two. After a week in New York you really appreciate the silence here. Even when we’re fully booked it’s nothing compared to Manhattan.”  
“Especially not when you stay on your own island, private property and every trespasser will be shot.”  
Sofia laughed. “Yeah, not only with beer bottles. Maybe I need a huge, scary looking dog to scare everybody away.”  
“Maybe.”  
“I’ll think about that. What about you? Do you have any plans for the time after Magical Beach? Or are they banned until you’re on the boat to the mainland?”  
“No, I’ve no idea what I’ll do.”  
“Back to Vegas?”  
“No!” That was harsher than Sara had planed. It was almost aggressive. She didn’t want to react like this, there was no reason for that. Sofia had asked her a simple question, nothing more.  
“Fair enough. I wouldn’t go back either.”  
“You don’t have to, you have a job here and own an island.”  
“That has nothing to do with my decision.”  
“Not?”  
“No.” Sofia sighed. It was obvious this wasn’t exactly a topic she wanted to talk about. But after they had started it she thought it was only fair to end it. “I won’t go back to Vegas anymore. This chapter is closed.” With her beer in one hand and a sausage in the other she slipped next to Sara. “Do you mind?”  
“You or the steak?” Sara smiled.   
“Both?”  
“No, not at all.” The brunette blinked.   
“Do you know or have any idea why I left Las Vegas?”  
“No. You never said a word when you left. I came back to work and you were gone, nobody seemed to know why and to where. I asked Brass all I got for an answer were some mumbled words I didn’t understand.”  
“He has no idea why I really left, I never told him.”  
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want.”  
“It’s all right. After we found you and you were in hospital we were all quite…down. I felt exhausted, asked myself why we do the things we do. Why do we go to work, why do we risk our lives to catch some bad people when for every bad one we arrest two new ones appear? It seemed to be senseless. Plus the fact that I had the feeling something was wrong with the graveyard shift. First Nick got kidnapped and buried alive. Than Greg was almost beaten to death by teenagers. I thought for a while I killed an officer, a father of three, which hit me harder than I thought. At the end you got abducted and died almost. It was just too much.   
But bearable. Until the last straw was gone. I hadn’t slept for a few days or nights, whatever it was when I was home, I looked like shit and when I sat on my desk and two officers walked past I heard one of them calling me ‘Detective Burn-Out’. Apparently my colleagues had noticed how I looked and drew their own conclusion about me. The worst thing wasn’t that they said it or that they didn’t say that straight to my face, it was that they were right. I felt like I was close to a burn out. So I did the only right thing and quit my job.”  
“You never said goodbye.” Sara’s word didn’t sound reproachful, they sounded more sad and a little bit dis-appointed.   
“I know, I’m sorry for that. I didn’t say goodbye to anybody, just packed my stuff and left. When nobody knew where I was nobody could try to get me back.”  
“Found you anyway.” Sara smirked.   
“Yeah, like a truly great investigator. I’ve no idea which evidence I left, which trace you read but you did an amazing job, Sara.”  
“I followed the sunshine, the blue water and the white beach. I looked for heaven and paradise and there was only one destiny that includes both: Magical Beach.”  
“It does, doesn’t it?”  
“Absolutely.”  
“How did you find out about it?”  
“An advertisement on the internet. Usually I don’t read them but this one caught my attention, I read and thought I can give it a try even when the price was quite high for my little bungalow.”  
“It’s cheap compares to everything else you can buy here. As soon as you buy or order something that’s not in the package you pay a high price.”  
“Like a diving lesson?”  
“For example.”  
“How did you get the job?”  
“I thought of what I want to do and came up with a long holiday. I heard about this place from a friend of my mother and flew here. When I arrived and asked for dives they told me their dive instructor had just quit his job and there wasn’t a new one yet. I told them I don’t need an instructor, I’ve all licenses and know what I’m doing. They looked puzzled and asked me if I need a job. Without hesitation I said yes if it’s a job as a dive instructor and I got it. This is the best job I ever had and it was the easiest interview.”  
“You were at the right time at the right place.”  
“Yes. That’s not what my mother says but I agree.”  
“Captain Curtis doesn’t like that her only daughter is a diving instructor?”  
“No, not at all. She hasn’t been here once, it’s a too big disappointment.”  
“You’re happy, you’re doing a great job I can’t see anything disappointing.”  
“She can. Well, the job is just another thing of my life she doesn’t like, there are many more. That’s how it goes when the daughter has her own head and doesn’t want to copy the life of the mother. Some mothers have problems to accept that.”  
Sara thought for a moment about her own mother. She was still in jail and Sara was sure her mother didn’t want her to live the life she had.   
“It’s important that you’re happy and you look happy.”  
“I am. Absolutely. This is what I want and I doubt I’ll get sick of it any time soon.”  
“Hopefully not I want some more lessons when I return.”  
“You already plan your return?”  
“One day I’ll be back. Maybe only for a week because it’s quite expensive but I’ll be back. This place is far too beautiful to stay away.”  
“In case you behave yourself well and are willing to bring a few pounds of chocolate with you, you might get a place to sleep for free and have only to pay for the boat.”  
“And the diving instructor?”  
“Maybe you can get that for free too…for another little shopping list.”  
“You get food here why do you need food brought?”  
“Because certain things you don’t get here and I miss them. I miss my favorite chocolate, my favorite coffee and pizza.”  
“Pizza isn’t good for your body, you won’t attract young men with six packs and sunshine smile anymore when you eat too much pizza.” Sara smirked.   
“I can’t care less.”  
“Your body isn’t part of the work package? Attract a lot of men to make them pay a lot of money to spend some time with you?”  
“Sounds like I’m a whore.”  
“No, a diving instructor.”  
“My amazing body can safe your life but it doesn’t safe your life because it’s amazing and perfect, it safes your life because of the smart heat, the watchful eyes and my ability to know exactly when and where somebody is in trouble. Like a good detective I’m able to read people and situations and that makes me the perfect diving instructor.”  
Sara laughed. “You’re so smug.”  
“And right now you like it and enjoy it.”  
“I do. Shame on me.”  
“I knew it.” Sofia grinned widely. That was a point for her. The first little victory. 

It was dark when they finished their dinner and went inside Sofia’s bungalow. When the blonde switched on the lights Sara took her first good look around. The last time she had been here she was too much almost drowned to have a look around. Right next to the door was a kitchenette with an oven and a big fridge. A table with four chairs completed the kitchen area before the room turned into the living room. A couch, an armchair, a TV and a sideboard plus a few plants. Three windows brought light during the day into the room. Two closed doors finished the room. Sara had already found out that the bathroom was the door to the left so the door on the right hand side was to the bedroom. Where she had been after Sofia got her here, coughing and shaking.   
“I didn’t take my sheets with me for the couch…”  
“I’ve sheets, don’t worry about that but you can’t turn the couch to a sleep couch.”  
“All right in that case I’ve to roll myself up like a cat.”  
“Sara, this couch isn’t a sleep couch.”  
“Does that mean I’ll sleep on the floor?” That wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. She was too old to sleep on the floor without a serious backache the next morning, her trip to South America had made that more than clear.   
“No, you sleep in my bed.”  
“You never told me about this part of the plan.”  
“Scared?” Sofia chuckled. “Again, don’t worry you’ll sleep in there alone.”  
“Where will you sleep?”  
“In my hammock.” Sofia opened a big box that had Sara reminded of a pirate’s treasure chest ad pulled a hammock out. A second look at the hammock made it obvious why the box had to be so big. It wasn’t an ordinary hammock, there was a mattress in the middle. Interested the brunette watched how Sofia got a snap hook through one ring in the wall and a second one through a ring in the supporting pillar in the middle of the room. Now she had a hammock in her living room with a one by two yards mattress in the middle.   
“That’s an interesting hammock.”  
“It’s a very handy one. You can’t sleep in an ordinary one when you like your back. This one supports your back and it swings like any other hammock. Very handy. I take it sometimes for a sleep outside when there’s a really nice night with a lot of stars and a full moon.”  
“What about the mozzies?”  
“I’ve a huge net.”  
“Sounds like you’re prepared for everything.”  
“Like a boys scout, always prepared. Feel free to use the bathroom first I have some small things to do so we can start right away in the morning.”  
“Okay, thanks.” Sara went into the bedroom. A queen size bed was in the middle. It looked like a four poster bed with the big net for mozzie protection. Three light green pillows and a bright orange blanket were on top of the bed. Beside a desk with a computer and a huge wardrobe the room was empty. It looked like Sofia wasn’t a fan of having a lot of furniture in her place.   
Sara dropped her bag on the bed, got her bathroom bag and sleep shirt out and went into the bathroom. She had a sleepover at Sofia’s place. Who would have ever thought something like this? It sounded so unreal. If anybody had told her this a week ago she had laughed her head off. No way! Not her! Sharing a house with Sofia, sleeping in the blonde’s bed. And now look at her, she was in Sofia’s bungalow, was about to sleep in her bed – without Sofia! – and had a good time with her the whole evening. Crazy but true.   
“The bathroom is all yours.”   
“Thanks.” Sofia had made herself a bed out of the hammock and handed Sara a small bottle of cold water. “In case you get thirsty tonight.”  
“Thanks. What time will we get up tomorrow?”  
“How early can you get up?”  
“Depends on what I get up for.”  
“A stunning blonde?”  
“Late afternoon.” Sara shot back dryly.   
“Ouch. An astonishing sunrise plus a million fishes in the ocean?”  
“Right before sunrise.”  
“Looks like I lost and nature won.”  
“So you’re telling me you’re not nature? You’re plastic?” Sara smirked.   
“No! Don’t you dare to say something like that again, Sara Sidle!”  
“Sounded like that…”  
“I wish you pleasant dreams – even if you don’t deserve then anymore.” Sofia vanished in the bathroom under Sara’s laughter. That was a nice finish of the day.

A sunny day on the beach, only a few people around, some kids in the water and an ice cold cocktail next to her. The perfect day off. Sofia enjoyed the sunshine and the occasionally looks she got every now and then from passing by people. It was always good for the self-esteem to realize you look good and having people admiring that.   
With a satisfied smile she got her attention back to her book. The sexy and smart detective was following a couple of thieves, was about to get them. Could be her back in the days. There weren’t many bad guys who got away, most of them ended where they belonged: in a cell and in front of a judge. Yes, she had been such a great detective. Sometimes she thought it was a shame that she quitted her job, a job she had been great in, had changes to make a really good career. Then again her job now wasn’t that bad either.   
A scream made her forget her book. Somebody was at risk. She took a look around. Everybody seemed to be calm. Didn’t they hear the screams? There, again! She checked on the kids in the water, still eight of them, still playing. There was no rush, no signs that somebody tried to get attention. Now there were was a cry too. Why was she the only one who heard that? Why didn’t anybody else pay attention? Where the hell were the crying and screams coming from? The beach looked like before and…Sofia realized what she heard wasn’t a part of the beach, it wasn’t a part of her dream, it was reality.   
Her eyes popped open. There! There was something. Some-body was crying and fighting. “Sara!” With one jump Sofia was out of her hammock and in her bedroom. Sara was in her bed, tossing and turning around, obviously suffering of a nightmare.   
Sofia hit the light and went to her bed. The light didn’t wake Sara up. She was caught in her nightmare, her faces was covered with tears.  
“Sara.” Carefully she shook the brunette. “Wake up, you’re dreaming.” No response.  
“Sara! Wake up.” Sofia tried it a little bit louder and shook her harder. She caught Sara’s arms, that were trying to fight her.   
“No! No! No!”  
“Hey.” She tried something else and pulled Sara in her arms. “It’s all right, Honey. It’s only a dream. Wake up, I’m here, nothing will happen to you.” She caressed the back of the brunette. Somehow she had to make her feel she was safe, wasn’t alone and the nightmare wasn’t real.  
“No, I…Sofia?”  
“Yes, I’m here. It’s all right, Sara. Relax, you had a nightmare. It’s all right.”  
“I drowned.”  
“No you didn’t. You’re alive, you didn’t drown.”  
“I almost died.”  
“But you didn’t.”  
Sara tried to sit up, Sofia gave her some space to move but didn’t break the contact to her.   
“Did you have a nightmare last night?”  
“No…maybe a little one…”  
“You didn’t sleep at all.” Sofia sighed. It wasn’t like she hadn’t noticed how tired and restless Sara looked the whole day.   
“No, I did sleep, but it wasn’t…I was more exhausted after I slept than before…maybe it would be better if I go back to my bungalow to let you sleep…”  
“There’s no way I’ll let you swim over and we won’t take the boat. You’ll stay here, Sara. If you don’t want to sleep, fine, you don’t have to but I won’t let you leave or leave you alone.”  
“You’ve to work tomorrow.”  
“I’m aware of that.”  
“You need to sleep.”  
“I need to know you’re all right.”  
“I am. I need a few more minutes…”  
“You need something to calm you down.” Sofia cocked her head. “Stay right here!” She got up, left the room and was back a second later with a book and a little stuffed dolphin and sat next to Sara.  
“What are you doing?”  
“I’ll read you a story.”  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“You understood me correctly. I’ll read you a story. You can lay back, close your eyes, listen to my voice, maybe that will relax you a bit. I’ll stay here until you’re asleep and make sure you won’t get another nightmare. And you can have Flipper.” She put the dolphin next to the brunette.   
“That’s crazy I’m not a baby…”  
“Who said stuffed animals and good night stories are only for babies? Lay down, close your eyes and shut up. If you don’t want me to stay up the whole night, take you in my arms and hold you tight, you’ll give it a try.”  
Sara grumbled something, laid down and closed her eyes. “That’s ridiculous.”  
“Shut up!” Sofia opened the book and started to read out loud. When Sara pretended to snore after the first sentence, she slapped the brunette playfully and told her again to be quiet or she would end up in Sofia’s arms. A few more mumbled and grumbled words and Sara was quiet.   
Fifteen minutes later she was asleep, the dolphin tightly in her arms.   
“That’s my girl.” Sofia smiled, got up, switched off the light, waited another minute to make sure Sara kept on sleeping, left the door open and went back to her hammock. Hopefully Sara could sleep better now.

Friday

Sofia had no idea if Sara really slept until the next morning or if she just didn’t scream anymore. Fact was she didn’t hear anything and was woken up by her alarm clock. She started her coffee machine and put some bagels in the oven before she gave herself a short clean-up. No need for a shower when you jump into the ocean a few minutes later.   
“Rise and shine.” She turned on the lights in her bedroom to wake Sara up.   
“What?”  
“Time to get up, the sunrise and the fishes are waiting for you. And so is a coffee and some bagels.”  
Sara sat up, looked sleepy and a little bit confused. She needed a moment to remember where she was. The dolphin was still in her arms.   
“You’ve five minutes to get into your swimsuit, the bathroom and sit outside with me and the breakfast. Time starts now…oh and Sara?”  
“Yeah?”  
“You and Flipper are a cute couple.” Sofia closed the door before Sara could reply anything.   
Less than five minutes later Sara sat next to her and had a coffee in her hands. There were only a few signs of the nightmares in the brunette’s face. She didn’t look relaxed and happy but better than yesterday and last night.  
“I’m sorry that I woke you up last night.”  
“Don’t worry about it.” Sofia squeezed Sara’s hand for a second. “I’m glad I could get you out of the nightmare. And I’m sorry I didn’t stop you from swimming when you left that day.”  
“Not your fault. Like you said, I wouldn’t have listened if you had tried to stop me. Sometimes you have to pay a price for being stupid.”  
“You’re a lot of things, Sara, stupid isn’t one of them. A little bit stubborn yes. That’s all right that isn’t always bad. I can see some stubbornness with your dive certification. It’s a lot of work and most people don’t like to learn and study during their holidays, not more than they have to. You’re devoted, you not only want to get your dive license you want it sumna con laude, you want to be perfect. And I’m sure when I test you tomorrow you won’t have any problems to pass the test. Like you won’t have any problems to pass the practical part.”  
“Do you think I can be a good diver when I have nightmares of drowning?”  
“You are already a good diver and the nightmares will go, they won’t stay forever.”  
Sara sighed. She was afraid she had a special connection to nightmares. They liked her, they stayed with her longer than they did with other people. The nightmares of her childhood still visited her every now and then.   
“Let’s hope that.”  
“Did you have any nightmares after I woke you up?”  
“No. It wasn’t a great sleep but better than before – and better than the night before…that doesn’t mean I’m a baby and need stories and stuffed animals.”  
Sofia laughed. “You slept and you looked cute with Flipper in your arms. We all need to feel safe sometimes. If that means a good night story and a stuffed animal, where’s the problem?”  
“A smug blonde makes fun of me.”  
“No, a nice blonde is glad you’re better and she will keep that little secret between her and you.”  
“I’d invite the blonde to a dinner tonight but I’m afraid she’ll be busy with her clients.”  
“Until eight she will, yes. Since when do you want to spend so much time with me, Sara? Not that I mind.”  
Sara bit her lips. That was a good question and she didn’t know an answer she wanted to give Sofia. There was the truth and some lies the blonde would never believe.   
“Maybe I want to get to know you better. After I wasn’t that friendly in Vegas.”  
“Sounds like a good reason to me. There’s only one catch: if you want to get to know somebody you have to give a little bit of yourself. Are you sure you want that? You strike me as a very private person.” It wasn’t a silent reproach of Sofia, Sara knew that.   
“I know. Maybe we can have a cocktail and a talk tomorrow at some point.”  
“Why tomorrow?”  
“Because you’re busy today.”  
“Until eight, Sara.”  
“By then you will be working for over fourteen hours…”  
“I can promise you this morning dive with you is more fun than work. I’ll come around when I’m done with my last two students and when I fee tired I can always go home. Now, let’s get started, shall we? I can see the sun and I’m sure there’ll be a few fishes awake and wait for us.” Sofia got up and offered Sara her hand to pull her up. With a smile Sara took the offered hand. Time to discover the wonderful world of the ocean in the morning.   
***  
It was a little bit after nine when Sara entered her bungalow. She had taken so many photos again and had to clean her SD card before she could take more photos. But first a little break. Diving in the morning made her tired and with a disturbed night in her bones she was tired anyway.   
She dropped on her bed and closed her eyes. There were all the colorful fishes again. And the turtle. Sara had seen another turtle today and this one had stayed around for a few minutes before it left them. Sofia had managed to take a photo of the turtle and Sara in a as short as possible distance of two yards. This photos had good chances to become her favorite photos of the trip. Until she was with the dolphins. Yes! Sofia told her today when Sara passed all her tests tomorrow they would celebrate this with a dive tour the day after tomorrow when Sofia had an afternoon off. There was a place where you had the chance to meet some dolphins while you dove and sometimes they let you touch them or pulled you through the water. Another life time experience.   
She felt some warmth from her stone but when she touched it, it was not warm nor cold. Nothing special just like a stone felt that was on a leather strap around her neck. Sara remember that when she laid in Sofia’s bed last night the stone felt warm too. Almost like it had when Rhys had hugged her. It wasn’t like she believed there were such things as magical stones, she was still a scientist but if they existed this had to be one. One that got warm or warmer when…yes when? She was close to people? She wasn’t close to anybody yesterday evening and she wasn’t close to somebody now.   
“I know somebody who knows the answer.” No time for sleeping, first se wanted some answers and after that she could get herself a blanket, a book and relax at the beach, have a little nap and walk over to the other side of the island. If she wanted to offer some dinner tonight she had to do some shopping.   
“Good morning, Beauty.” Rhys sent her a smile. “I heard you had a sleep over.”  
“I did, my nosy bartender.”  
“Glad to hear that.”  
“Why’s that?”  
“Because you and my Golden Treasure have a lot in common, the two of you haven’t that found out yet entirely but I’m sure you’re on a good way.”  
“You’re the voodoo priest you must know.”  
Rhys smiled widely. “Anything you want to tell my, Beauty?”  
“Yes. Your stone…”  
“It’s your stone.”  
“The stone you gave me yesterday, is it a magical stone?”  
“There isn’t such things like magic, Beauty. For everything what happens is a scientific reason, isn’t it?”  
“Let’s pretend there might be such things like magic, magical stones. Would the one you gave me be one?”  
“What makes you think so?”  
“It feels warm sometimes.”  
“The stone is warm?”  
“Yes…no, not the stone. My skin under it. Like it glows for a second and when I look at it there’s nothing left than the warmth.”  
“When does that happen?”  
“When you hugged me yesterday, when I was in Sofia’s bed and this morning when I was in my bed.”  
“I can understand that you feel hot when you’re in my Golden Treasure’s bed.”  
“She wasn’t there, don’t get excited.”  
“Of course not, she knows better. Anything else you noticed about your stone?”  
“Besides that it gets warm? No. I want to know why it gets warm.”  
“You’ll find out.”  
“Rhys!”  
“Beauty, you should remember that sciences plays on paper, magic plays in the head. You’re the only one who can have a look into your head and find out what makes your stone warm. If it gets warm. Think about it as a scientist and as a person who believes in magic and you’ll get all the answers you want.” He put a cocktail in front of her and left her alone.   
“You’re not very helpful today.” She mumbled, took her cocktail and walked with her towel away. As a scientist the stone was warmth because of her body heat. It saved it like any other item that was on her skin. Easy. The skin under the stone felt warmer because it kept the heat there. As somebody who believed in magic…how could she find an explanation for that? She didn’t believe in magic. 

“I wish I were a tourist and could lie lazy around, read a book and do nothing while other people have to work hard.” Sofia sat next to Sara in the sand, her shades on, wearing shorts, a shirt and a baseball cap.   
“Yeah, poor Rhys, I know.” Sara chuckled   
“He and me.”  
“You worked?”  
“Yes since six o’clock this morning. A naughty ex CSI, who slept in my bed, got me into the ocean to find Nemo.”  
“You can have your bed the next time, I take the hammock it looked cozy.”  
“Who said there’ll be a next time?” Sofia cocked a brow. She couldn’t remember she made such an offer.   
“Wanna bet?”  
“No, I don’t bet, that’s too much Vegas.”  
“True. How about dinner?”  
“Sounds much better I’m starving. Will Rhys serve something?”  
“No, I prepared something.”  
“You?”  
“Yes.” Sara was satisfied with the surprise in Sofia’s face. “I went over to the shop and got us a lovely dinner.”  
“Wow, I’m impressed.”  
“You better are.” Sara waved at Rhys who blinked at them when they walked pass the bar. “One day he should take a day off.”  
“That’s our boss says. Rhys prefers to work than be at home and relax. He says his perfect holiday destination is the bar and he’s fine working there every day. It’s what he loves and wants to do.”  
“A workaholic.”  
“Not the first I met.”  
“I got that.” Sara bopped Sofia.   
“You are on holidays.”  
“Yes for the first time in ages. And who do I meet? The smug blonde.”  
“That’s what you call a perfect vacation.”  
“Not in English.” Sara opened the door to her bungalow   
“Ohmygod!”   
“Yes, please?”  
“Tell me you covered something with chocolate.”  
“Why should I lie to you?”  
“Because if not I look at a chocolate cake.”  
“Triple chocolate mud cake to be correct. With that I’ll serve some pineapples, cooled and covered with milk, dark or white chocolate, a banana pancake with chocolate sauce, a fruit mix on chocolate ice cream and in between I’ve a pizza Hawaii. Unfortunately it’s only warm and not hot anymore.”  
“I think I died and am in heaven now.”  
“Don’t you dare to die before we were at the dolphins.”  
“I’m in chocolate heaven.” Sofia hugged Sara “You are crazy.”  
“And you’re hungry.”  
“Yes.”   
“Help yourself.” Sara got some cold water out of the fridge. If she ate all these sweet things she needed something neutral. And probably a doctor later. 

It was past ten when Sofia got up from Sara’s porch. “I think it’s time for me to sail home before it’s absolutely dark and I won’t find my little island anymore.”  
“Yeah…”  
Sofia looked at Sara. “What is it, Sara?”  
“Nothing.”  
“You’re a bad liar, did anybody ever told you that?”  
“No.”  
“Now you know.”  
Sara swallowed and bit on her lips.   
“Come on, spill it. I can see you’ve got something on your mind.”  
“It’s ridiculous.”  
“Why don’t you tell me first and I make my own decision.”  
“No. Forget it.”  
“Come on, it can’t be that bad.”  
“It’s stupid.” Sara got up and opened her door. “I wish you a good night. And a safe trip back to the island. Shall I wait until you’re there? You can give me a sign with a torch.”  
“Sara.” Sofia stepped close to the brunette, touched her arm. “Tell me what’s on your mind, please.”  
Sara sighed. It was stupid, ridiculous she made herself…she couldn’t say this out loud. It was so much not her.   
“I promise I won’t laugh or bite you.”  
“You’ll laugh your ass off.”  
“I won’t. Big diver promise.”  
Sara swallowed again. She about to make a fool out of herself. She knew it and there was no way she could get around it.   
“Could you…I mean…I know it’s not a good idea…but …maybe…”  
Sofia pulled Sara in her arms and held her. “Why don’t you rethink your sentence again and say it out loud then? I’ve time, don’t rush yourself. Get it the way it feels most comfortable for you and say it.”  
Sara closed her eyes. She felt how she relaxed. And her stone, it seemed to be warm again. Double body heat? Had to be.   
“Could you stay here? I don’t think I…I’m afraid…”  
“Of course.”  
“But only if that’s okay, I mean you’ve to work tomorrow…”  
“You’ve a test to pass tomorrow.”  
“Yes, I learnt today and am prepared.”  
“I didn’t expect anything else. Where do you want me to sleep?” There weren’t many possibilities where Sofia could sleep. It was either a chair, the floor with Sara in her bed.   
“I won’t send you on the floor. It’s a queen size bed that should be all right, shouldn’t it?”  
“Yes. Give me a second and I get a toothbrush from the bar.”  
“They’ve got…?”  
“Yes in case a guest realized he or she forget their toothbrush. They’ve the most important things there.”  
“Okay. Thanks.”   
“You’re welcome.” Sofia pulled Sara closer once again. “It’s all right, don’t worry.”  
“I feel like a stupid child.”  
“You’re not a stupid child, you’re a sensible grown up woman. Hurry up in the bathroom, we both need some sleep to be fit for the big day.”  
“It’s not a big day for you.”  
“Every time I can give somebody a diving license is a big day.” Sofia blinked at Sara and left the bungalow to get the toothbrush. This was a surprise, a big one. But she was glad Sara asked her to stay. She had worried if the brunette would have more nightmares this night and would be too tired for her test tomorrow. 

Saturday

When Sara woke up she realized Sofia had an arm causally placed over her belly. In the light of the moon she could see the face of the sleeping blonde. Sofia looked calm, relaxed and had a little smile on her face. Maybe she had a nice dream. Sara’s dreams were…better. So far she hadn’t dreamed she was killed by anything. Her dreams weren’t nice, she could only remembered bits and pieces but also no fear. Maybe she was over the experience of almost drowning or Sofia’s presence scared the nightmares away.   
She shared a bed with Sofia. Things got weirder and weirder. What was next? She snuggled up in the arms of the blonde? What was the matter with her? It wasn’t like she didn’t like Sofia she had enjoyed the time with her the last days but…but this was all wrong. In nine days she would leave Magical Beach and had to be an adult again. Had to sleep alone and handle her life - that included dreams as well. There was no way she…Sara stopped breathing for a second. Sofia had turned and laid close to her now, head almost on Sara’s shoulder, held her tighter. Not Sara was about to end up snuggling in Sofia’s arms, it was the other way around. That was too close to comfort, that was…actually quite relaxing.   
To hell with this stone, it felt hot. Sara flipped it aside. Stupid thing. Magic. That wasn’t magic, that was annoying. Maybe it was a kind of solar stone that stored body heat and released it later. She had never heard of such stones but she had never been interested in something like that. At least it was an explanation, a scientific explanation. Everything else was… there were no other explanations.   
A quiet sight escaped Sofia like she dreamed of something nice. Probably more chocolate, Sara reckoned. The eyes of the blonde had gloomed like a child’s eyes on Christmas Day. The little surprise was perfect. If that was reason why Sofia agreed to stay? Contrary to Sara the blonde didn’t have any problems to stay, to agree and she didn’t look like she thought Sara was stupid asking for it. More like she liked the idea and was glad to stay. If Sofia felt bad because of what had happened to Sara? If she thought it was her fault and she tried to make up for that?   
Sofia. The stone. Was this little thing reacting to the blonde? When Sara thought about it she could remember at least three situations in that the stone was warm, Sofia was somehow involved. But why would it react to her? There was no reason for it. It wasn’t like Sofia or her presence made something with Sara…okay, she felt safe and relaxed with the blonde, but that was only because of the swim thing. That had nothing with Sofia as a person to do. Maybe she should just give the stone back to Rhys. 

“What can I offer you for your celebration?” Rhys greeted Sara when the brunette came to the bar in the late afternoon.   
“Do I have a reason to celebrate?”  
“Shouldn’t your new license be a reason to celebrate?”  
“It would be if I had it. So far my diving instructor hasn’t told me if I passed the tests or not. All she told me was she needed a little bit more time because she wasn’t sure what it is and she doesn’t want to give me a wrong information. That can mean anything and I really feel like strangling her.”  
“She wouldn’t let you fail.”  
“No bonus points.”  
“Not? No special points for a friend? A good friend. After all she came very early out of your bungalow she must like you when she brings you breakfast.”  
“She didn’t bring me breakfast, she stayed over.” Sara was prepared for some stupid comments. Instead Rhys’ face turned serious and worried.   
“Do you have nightmares? Is it the incident?”  
“I didn’t have any nightmares last night, I had them the two nights before, you know that, you saw me. I asked her to stay because I slept better the night before when she came to me and stayed with me for a while after she woke me up of a nightmare. I hate to admit it but Sofia is good for me.”  
“I’m glad you noticed that and I’m glad she stayed. She worries about you, Beauty. She likes you and she wants you happy.”  
“In that case she should give me a bonus for my tests.”  
“No bonus, no special treatment, you’re a smart woman you can learn for your tests and if you want to pass them you learn enough.”  
Sara turned around. Behind her was Sofia and a man Sara guessed around ten years senior of her. It looked like he and Sofia came from somewhere together to the bar. Sara hadn’t seen him before. He was tall, almost seven foot and looked like a former basketball player.   
“Hello boss.” Rhy greeted the man.   
“Hello workaholic, I heard you worked two shifts in a row again.”  
“Yes and I loved every single second. Want to give me some trouble for that?”  
“I gave that up long ago and it’s not the reason why I’m here. I’d like to talk to you, Miss Sidle. My name is Powell and as you heard I’m the boss of Rhys and Sofia.”  
“Me?” Sara almost dropped her cocktail. Did she do something wrong? There had to be a reason why the owner of the island wanted to talk to her.   
“Yes. Do you have a minute?”  
“Sure. Shall we go somewhere?”  
“We can talk here if you like.”  
“Okay.” This way she had Rhys and Sofia to help her out in case she was in trouble.   
“I heard you’re looking for a job.”   
Sara looked at Sofia who shook her head. She didn’t tell her boss about Sara. Her eyes fell on Rhy who nodded. So her had told Mister Powell about Sara’s job hunt. She wondered what he had said.   
“When I leave here I need a job, yes. I quit my old job before I came here.”  
“You worked as a CSI.”  
“For a few years, yes.”  
“And more recent you were with several scientists in South America, worked in the jungle and rain forest.”  
“Correct. We made some tests about how the actions human take effect the nature with it’s plants, trees and wildlife. We did this for various scientific and nature universities and several professors.”  
“That means you’re an expert when it comes to security and nature.”  
“I wouldn’t call myself an expert.”  
“As a CSI you know how to protect houses of burglars, don’t you?”  
“Yes.”  
“And you also know a big deal about cars I got told. You can dissemble them and put them back together. You also know a lot about engines and other technical stuff.”  
“I worked most of the cars from crime scenes, yes.”  
“How about your expertise about nature?”  
“Protecting nature and animals is more a hobby of mine. I can tell you if a tree is healthy or has a disease but I don’t know all kind of diseases or infections.”  
“Are you interested in learning more about nature? About sea life?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good. I want to offer you a job.”  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“Well I can always use somebody who knows a few things about security, I want my guests to feel safe during their stay. We often need somebody to have a look for things that broken and we also want somebody who supports our green man.”  
“Green man?”  
“Spike is taking care of everything on this island with more than two legs, no legs, roots or fins. He can use some help when it comes to – let’s say – administrable work. After Rhys told me about you I had to think of you as the person we’re looking for. You would stay on the island, work five days a week and we can talk about the money.”  
Sara was speechless. She looked at Rhys and Sofia. Both were smiling. Obviously it didn’t have been a secret for them. Sara was the last to know about her maybe own future.   
“Did you plan that?”   
“No!” Sofia held up her hands. “I’ve nothing to do with this. I’d never dare to talk with somebody about your private life without your approval.”  
“Rhys?”  
“I mentioned you’ll start job hunting when you leave and I’ve told him what you did so far. Everything else was the boss himself.”  
“They’re right. I don’t need them to tell me who’s good for my island and my company. Rhys told me about you, I wanted to make myself a picture of you and it’s my decision to offer you a job. They’ve nothing to do with it.”  
I won’t agree until we haven’t talked about the details.”  
Mister Powell smiled. “I didn’t expect anything else, Sara. Why don’t you come to my office? The day after tomorrow.”  
“If you tell me where your office is.”  
“I’m sure Rhys or Sofia will take you there. They want you to work for me as much as I want that. I’ll leave Sara to you. Rhys, I say this because I have to: go home, call it a day. Sofia: enjoy your day off tomorrow. Good work with the VIPs, they were very happy.”  
“Of course they were.” Sofia smiled. “I’ll take Sara to your office.”  
“Okay, see you then.” He rose his hand for a short wave and left the bar.   
Sara followed him with her eyes. This seemed to be too easy. She wouldn’t feel happy until they hadn’t worked out the details and she had a signed contract.   
“Tell her that she passed, you don’t have the heart to let her fail anyway.” Rhys teased Sofia, being as nervous about the result as Sara was. Now that their boss was gone and he ignored his order, he wanted to know what happened to Sara and her license.   
“Believe me, I do have the heart to let her fail. A diver who doesn’t know how to dive correctly is a danger for himself and the rest of the people under water. And for Sara I raised the bar a little bit higher than for other because I know her. I was more strict and asked more questions.”  
“If you have her as a friend you don’t need enemies.” Sara chuckled.   
“Shut up, student.”  
“Why? You’ve the results, you can’t change them anymore.”  
“I should have let you fail.”  
“But I didn’t.”  
“No, you passed. Of course. You’re too damn smart to fail.”  
“Yes!” Sara hugged Sofia happily. She made it. She was the proud owner of a diving license now. She could go diving.   
“You did a great job, Sara. I’ll feel safe when we go for a dive tomorrow. You even answered the questions right that are for advanced diver.”  
“Thanks.” She pulled Sofia closer. “I had a really great teacher.”  
“You made her proud.”  
“I bet you tell that all your students.”  
“No, I don’t.” Sofia placed her head on Sara’s shoulder and kept her close. “You’re amazing, Sara. Not only the questions, also in the water. To be honest I worried a bit you might be scared but you were cool. I’m really proud of you.”  
“Thanks.”   
“I think that’s a reason to celebrate. What can make for you two?”  
“A cocktail and something to eat?” Sara asked Sofia and let go of her. She had her license! She was a diver. She couldn’t repeat this too often.   
“Make it only a cocktail.”  
“You’re not hungry?”  
“I am, but I’ve plans for us.”  
“What plans?”  
“It’s full moon. Did you ever watch the full moon and the stars from a beach?”  
“No.”  
“Care to do that tonight?”  
“We wanted to go diving tomorrow.”  
“We’ll do that. We take the hammock out, watch the moon, the stars, fall asleep and see the dolphins in the morning. It’s pitch-black at eleven, no need to stay awake for much longer than that. We’ll be fit for breakfast at seven. Actually we can have breakfast on the boat, it’s a nice thing to do.”  
“Sounds good to me. What do you think, Rhys? Is there any reason why I should stay with you and not with her?”  
“Oh Beauty, how can you ask me such a question? You want me to make a decision between having you with me and having you seen the stars and the moon in a hammock? I want you as happy as possible, take the stars and give me the honor of your presence tomorrow night for a goodnight cocktail.”  
“Sounds like a good idea. I get my things, Sofia.”  
“All right.”   
“Full moon, stars and dolphin, I love this holidays. And I’ve a dive license, I’m a diver. I could hug the world…but I think I’ll end up hugging the two of you when I’m back.”  
“We can find a way to live with that.” Rhys answered amused.   
“You better do.” Sara left the bar towards her bungalow.   
“Looks like the two of you are getting closer.”   
“It’s amazing, Rhys. One week ago I had bet she’d never let me into her life, now she made her diving license with me, we meet every evening and had sleepovers at each other’s places. That’s not the Sara I used to know.”  
“Magical Beach is doing it’s magic.”  
“Yes, Magical Beach and a little stone around her neck. I know you, Rhys, you did that with a purpose. You picked this stone because it stands for something special. What is it?”  
He smiled. “Sara is the one who can tell you.”  
“I doubt she will, she doesn’t believe in magic.”  
“Sometimes our view of the world get changed by little things. The stone will help her to find out what she wants, what makes her happy.”  
“If she pays attention.”  
“Magic always finds its way. You should know that.”  
“I do.” Sofia smiled shortly before she became serious again. “You didn’t do anything she wouldn’t like, did you?”  
“Do I really have to answer this question?” He furrowed his brows. She should know better.  
“No. Sorry for that stupid question. It’s just…I want her happy and I worry about her. She pretends to be tough and cool but… okay, you know that yourself.”  
He grinned. “Come here, Golden Treasure.”  
“Why?”  
“Come here.” He practically pulled her to him with the movement of his fingers. When she was in front of him he hugged her.   
“Feel that?”  
“Yes.” Sofia felt warmth, she felt confidence and a lot of love. There was no better way to describe it then this. Whenever he pulled her in his arms she felt like nothing in the world could ever hurt her, like everything would be all right. It was a mystery for her how he did that, she didn’t doubt he had some kind of…power other people didn’t have but she wasn’t a hundred percent sure if she really wanted to believe in magic. Too often was there a little voice in her head that told her there was no such things like magic. One day she would believe without hesitation and doubts. 

“Will we stay the whole night outside or just sit here for a while?” Sara sipped on her juice. The sun was about to drown in the ocean, in a few minutes it would be dark.   
“What would you prefer?”  
“I think I’d like to stay outside.”  
“Okay.”  
“Can your hammock carry two people?”  
“It can, yes. But who says I want to share my hammock with you?”  
“Who says I want you in the hammock? Maybe I want Rhys. After he got me a job.”  
“Do you want to take the offer?”  
“Honestly I don’t know yet. It’s tempting, very tempting. Something completely new. I don’t know if I’m good at… whatever I’m supposed to do. It sounded interesting and I’d love to stay here. Just for the fact that I can stay longer I have to take the offer. The staff lives in a huge staff house, don’t they?”  
“Yes. They’ve their own bedrooms and bathrooms but share the kitchen and living room.”  
“A student’s life, I’m not sure if I want to live like that. Too many people. If I want my own place I won’t get any money, will I?”  
“There are like four or five apartments for staff members but like you said, if you take them you won’t have much money left.”  
“Why do you get an island?”  
“It’s mine.”  
“That’s not fair.”  
“You can’t complain you’re welcome here.”  
“Maybe I’ve to become a diving instructor too.”  
Sofia laughed. “You want to steal my job?”  
“No, your island.”  
“Forget it.”  
“You still haven’t told me why you got it.”  
“No.”  
“And you won’t tell me?”  
“Depends.”  
“On what?”  
Sofia cocked her head. “It’s your turn to tell me something about you. Like I said when you want to get to know somebody you have to tell them something about yourself.”  
“Fair enough. What do you want to know?”  
“What do you want me to know? I won’t demand anything you don’t want me to know. No force, Sara.”  
“Thanks.” Sara looked at the sun. It was gone and the darkness crept out of the corners. “Why don’t we get the hammock out and talk while we watch the stars and the moon?”  
“Sounds like a good idea for me. I get the hammock you get the net? I don’t want to be eaten by mozzies.”  
“Me neither.” Sara scratched her arms. She had two bits already. The problem with nice places was that mozzies also liked them. She knew this problem from South America and used a lot of anti mozzie crèmes not to end up covered in bites.   
Obviously Sofia slept frequently outside, the blonde carried the hammock straight to two palms close to the water, there were hooks like in the bungalow a bar for the net.   
“Get in I follow you.”  
“Will I fall out when you come in?” Sara asked suspiciously.   
“Not when we are smart.”  
“We’re nothing else.” Sara climbed into the hammock and got on the other side of the mattress. As soon as she was over the middle Sofia followed her to keep the balance. The hammock shook, they were close to fall down but eventually managed to stay on the mattress. With a thin blanket they covered themselves up. Two pillows for their heads and the perfect position for watching stars was theirs.   
“Wow, like holiday.” Sara chuckled.  
“It’s your holiday. And my day off tomorrow, so a kind of tiny holiday. I can’t imagine a better place than this one for my holiday.”  
“Than being next to me?” Sara smirked.   
“Who’s the smug one now?”  
“It’s always you.”  
“Your question sounded slightly different, Honey.”  
“Did it? Maybe you understood it wrong.”  
“Do you want to tell me I’m blond and stupid?”  
“I’d never say that.”  
“Would you think that?”  
“Blond and stupid? Not about you.”  
“I will believe you – this time.”  
“You believe me more often.” Sara turned her head to see into Sofia’s face. “Sofia?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Thanks for…being there last night. And the night before but especially last night.”  
“My pleasure. If you have any more nightmares and need me around just tell me.”  
“Will I get this special treatment also as your colleague or is it only for guests?”  
“It’s only for friends, Sara.”   
“Thanks.” Sara smirked again. “But I’ve to complain, you pulled me into your arms and didn’t let me go.”  
“Of course not. I had a sexy brunette in my arm, you don’t let a sexy brunette escape. You’ll be in my arm again this night when we sleep in here.”  
“Who said we’ll sleep in here?”  
“Come on, we both want to watch stars, we’ll end up here. I’ll get us a thicker blanket and two more pillows later and we can stay.”  
“Okay. Even when I know you only do that because you want to sleep next to me.”  
“Sara Sidle, you’re not only smug you’re very arrogant. What happened to you? Maybe the diving license isn’t good for you.”  
“It’s very good for me. It’s just that I gave myself the promise to change a few things in my life, one is that I want to get to know you better, another is that I want to see more often positive things in life. Which brings me to my part of our deal. I’ve no idea what you want to know so why don’t you ask me things you always wanted to ask me and I answer them.”  
“You don’t have to.”  
“All right, I’ll answer everything I want to answer. No pressure, no force.”  
“Deal. I start with the obvious thing: Grissom. We worked three years together you guys never seemed to be more than colleagues. When he said you’re a couple we all couldn’t believe our ears. Did you not say a word because he was your supervisor?”  
“That was one reason and the other is that I prefer to keep my private life private.”  
“Did you leave Vegas because everybody knew about you and Grissom?”  
“No, I couldn’t take it anymore. The crimes, the dead people, the destroyed lives. I had to leave, had to see something else than what people do to each others. It helped me to find joy in my life but also destroyed the relationship to Grissom. He was in Vegas, didn’t want to leave and I didn’t want to come back. So we did the only sensible thing, we broke up.”   
Sara stopped for a moment. “And maybe we were too much alike. You know I’m a…a person who is more comfortable around things you can see, science, realistic, you can count. So is he, we both know how to handle something you can see, examine and use letters or numbers on. We’re good with these things but we have not really any idea how to handle…soft skills. Everything with an IQ is no problem, for everything you need an EQ for we struggle. Maybe we need a partner who can show us some soft skills and let us experience the side of the brain that we don’t use so often. At least I think that was my reason to end it. I loved him but he couldn’t make me happy to the bottom of my heart.  
That sounds a little bit like I’m a psycho.”  
“No, not all. It sounds like you’re a woman who is aware of her strength and her weakness. When you know about them you can use them and you can work on your weakness, make it a strength.”  
“That would take some time.”  
“Anybody rushing you?”  
“No.” Sara laughed a bit. “But I need a very patient teacher and most people don’t have time anymore.”  
“Do you exclude yourself form this list?”  
“No, not entirely. But I’m getting better.”  
“That’s a start. How about trying new things to explore new sides of yourself?”  
“This holiday is something new. I’ve been for almost three weeks without a cell phone, a computer and contact to other people than the ones who are here too. That gave me a lot of time to think about myself, my relationship to other people and what I want for my life.”  
“What kind of job?”  
“What I want for my work and also what I want for my private life.”  
“What do you want for your private life?”  
“I want tidy up my social circle. Not that it is very big but I want to get in contact with people who are important to me, who make me happy, make me feel good. And I want to delete the names of everybody else. There’s no reason to keep the number or email address of somebody I can rely on. The world is full with things that can make you sad you don’t need to hold on to people who do the same.”  
“Very wise. Will I have a place in your new world or will I get kicked out with the rest of the annoying people?”  
“Sounds like the perfect group for you, doesn’t it?”  
“No-o!” Sofia bopped Sara.   
“I’ll think about that, if I want a Sofia Curtis in my life. An annoying smug blonde.” Sara placed her head on Sofia’s shoulder to have a more comfortable look at the sky. “Next question.”  
“No more question, we’re not in an interrogation.”  
“You weren’t that nice to people in interrogation.”  
“You’re not a criminal.”  
“No, I might be your colleague soon.”  
“Again.”  
“Lovely, isn’t it?”  
“I always liked to work with you.”  
“And I’ve changed and will enjoy to work with you too. If your boss and I can agree.” Sara shivered. “Didn’t you say something about a thicker blanket?”  
“Take the one that’s on my bed.”  
“Me?”  
“Yes. I’m too lazy to get up.”  
“Me too.”  
“Can’t be too cold then.” Sofia mocked.   
“You’re not a nice host.” Sara gave the blonde the evil eyes before she grabbed the arm of the other woman and snuggled onto it.   
“What do you think you’re doing?”  
“I found myself a heater.” And another one was working as well. Her stone was hot again. It had to react to Sofia, if this wasn’t the best evidence Sara had no idea what else it could be.   
“You know my price.”  
“You’re priceless, Sofia.”  
“Thanks. You’re so nice today, Sara, what’s wrong with you?”  
“I’m a diver.”  
“I should have given you your license earlier if that makes you so nice.”  
“Sofia, I’ve always been nice.”  
“Yeah, sure.” Sofia got her arm under Sara and pulled her closer. “Better?”  
“Yes.” The brunette closed her eyes for a moment. “Can I ask you something? About Rhys.”  
“Sure.”  
“The stone he gave me…what kind of stone is it?”  
“If I tell you it’s a magic stone would you believe me?”  
“As a scientist? No.”  
“And when you listen to your soft skills and not the science or intelligence?”  
“Then…I don’t know…I tried to find a reason I can accept as a scientist, so far I couldn’t find one.”  
“Which one did you find?”  
“The stone reacts to certain…things…”  
“Which are?”  
“It…when Rhys gave it to me he hugged me and the stone… actually everything felt strange. I can’t find the right words to describe it. And when…this will sound even stranger than the first part…it feels like it gets warm…hot…sometimes.”  
“When?”  
“When…I don’t think it’s a good thing to say that.”  
“Why?”  
“Because…just forget. Okay?”  
“Sara.” Sofia smiled a bit. “Shouldn’t you trust me a little bit more? You know I won’t laugh.”  
“I know but…that’s ridiculous.”  
“That’s what you said before you asked me to stay with you and it was good because you slept. Trust me a little bit.”  
“I do trust you.” And it surprised Sara that she meant what she said. She trusted Sofia and she felt…comfortable with the blonde around…even when they were very close like now. She was in Sofia’s arms and she liked it.   
“Good. Then tell me when you’re ready, there’s still no force and pressure. And no blanket and I’ll get that before it gets too cold.” Sofia got up and left the hammock carefully. “Do you need anything else?”  
“Yes. I need to brush my teeth and change.”  
“Sounds sensible. I bet I’m faster.”  
“No way!” They pushed and pulled each other on the way to Sofia’s bungalow and back and stumbled more back in the hammock. With one BANG they ended on the ground, Sara on top of Sofia.   
“Ouch.”  
“Damn. Ouch. That was too fast.” Sara cursed.   
“Looks like.”  
“I won.”  
“Why is that?”  
“Because you’re down on the ground.”  
“That made me first in the hammock.”  
“In your dreams maybe.”  
“Do you want to fight?”  
“Yes.” Sara started to tickle Sofia who was for a few seconds unable to fight back. They rolled through the sand until a palm stopped them.   
“Let’s settle for even.” Sofia offered.  
“Deal.”   
“This kind of fight is much more fun than the ones we had years ago.”  
“I don’t fight with cops they always cry when they lose.”  
“We don’t lose.”  
“Hah!”  
“Do you want to fight again?”  
“No, I settled for even so you won’t cry and I won’t give a victory away again.”  
“One more sentence like this and you won’t sleep in my hammock.”  
“Don’t make me beat you.”  
“Are you daring me?”  
“I’m warning you.”  
“I was the cop you were only a pen pusher. A lab rat.”  
“Careful Curtis.”  
“I still have my gun, Sidle. What about you?”  
“I’ve a diving license.” Sara grinned. “That’s much more fun.”  
Sofia started laughing. “At least you can’t rob somebody with that.”  
“No but I can find the treasures of the pirates who lived here hundred of years ago.”  
“Yes you can do that. Tomorrow.” Sofia got into the hammock, Sara followed her carefully. This time they didn’t end up on the ground.   
“I hope we won’t end up in the sand during our sleep.” Sara worried a bit about what might happen when they turned a bit.   
“We’ll get these two over us.” Sofia took two ropes with hooks, connected them each with one side of the hammock and pulled the sides of it a little higher. “I use them when I sleep here.”  
“Now we can’t fall out anymore. If the hammock turns we’ll hang on these ropes like shirts on the clothesline.”  
“I prefer to sleep in here. How do you feel? Everything all right?”  
“Yes. I’ve got pillows, a blanket and a great sky to look at.”  
“Not to forget a stunning blonde next to you.”  
“Where? I can only see a smug one.”  
“Shut up and sleep!” Sofia bopped Sara and closed her eyes. She had never shared her hammock for a night and wondered if they could really manage to stay in here the whole night. 

Sunday

“Sara, wake up.”  
Sofia’s voice got into Sara’s sleep and made her open her eyes.   
“Huh?” Did she have a nightmare? She couldn’t remember. Not if she had or if she dreamed anything else.   
“Time to get up, breakfast time.”  
“What time is it?”  
“Quarter to seven.”  
“Why do I have to get up this early?”  
“Because you want to see the dolphins. Or do you prefer to stay in the hammock and not see them?”  
“Can I have a deal?”  
“How would this deal look like?” Sofia laughed.   
“We stay a little bit longer here, wake up slowly, take the breakfast with us, eat on the boat and we’re back on our time schedule – the one I didn’t know we have it.”  
“Okay.”  
“Thanks.” Sara yawned and blinked. “I slept wonderful.” What a great feeling to have real sleep after a few nights with bad no sleeps.  
“You snored.”  
“I didn’t.”  
“You did. Not loud but cute.”  
“Leave me alone.” She tried to turn but it wasn’t possible.   
“You didn’t snore the nights before if that makes you happy.”  
“I don’t snore at all!”  
“Then there had to be somebody else around last night. Maybe a snoring turtle? Or a coughing dolphin?”  
“You’re mean I don’t like you anymore.”  
“Yes you do. And I like you.”  
Bang, the stupid stone was hot again. Sara grumbled, opened the knot and threw the stone in the sand.   
“What are you doing?”  
“I got rid off the stone.”  
“Why?”  
“Because it’s annoying.”  
“So am I you say all the time and you don’t throw me away.”  
“I tried that last night but I fell with you. I’ll throw you off the boat later.”  
“Little grumpy diver.”  
“Leave me alone!”   
“All right.” Sofia chuckled, left the hammock and picked up the stone. “I’ll prepare our breakfast. You’ve ten minutes before the boat will leave, skipper.”  
“Whatever.” Sara turned and closed her eyes. She didn’t snore! Sofia must have dreamed that. Nobody ever told her she snored. And this stupid stone. Sara didn’t want it anymore. She didn’t want something that got hot around her neck anymore, she wanted to live like before. No voodoo. Not even non existing voodoo.   
Because she was given a time she arrived two minutes too late at the boat. Something Sofia only noticed with a smile when she handed Sara a fresh coffee.   
“Thanks.” Sara grumbled.   
“Oh Sara.” Sofia laughed out loud. “Stop being grumpy, you’ll swim with dolphins soon. And you’re a diver.”  
“And I snore.”  
“I’m sorry but you did. Like a little teddy bear. Come on teddy, we leave.” Sofia untied the knots and started the engine of her boat. It was two by five yards and had a ladder at the back to get easier on board when you were in the water. A roof gave them some shade and the little fridge showed Sara, she would get some cold drinks.   
“How far is it to the dolphins?”  
“Half an hour. We need to get to the other side of the main island and then a few miles south.”  
“And we can dive there too?”  
“Yes. But we’ll go half a mile further in the ocean to a small island you only see when the tide is low. It’s visible for an hour and not bigger than ten by ten. The perfect place for a lunch too.”  
“Sounds good to me.”  
“Then lean back and enjoy the trip.” 

“Ready?”   
“Yes.” Sofia checked her gear again. “You?”  
“Yes. Wanna check?”  
“Would you like me to check?”  
“Yes. Better safe than sorry.”  
“Okay. Crosscheck.” They checked each other. “You’re ready to dive.”  
“Thanks and bye.” With a smile Sara put on her mask and let herself fall backwards into the water.   
“I’ll get you sooner or later, Sara.” Sofia put on her mask and followed Sara. 

“I hugged a dolphin!” Sara’s face was one huge smile. She had spent an hour with the dolphins. Swimming, playing and snorkeling, watching them.   
“Yes.”  
“And they pulled me through the water. I always knew they are friendly but I never thought they are this friendly. I think I’m in love with all of them.”  
“And they are all love you.”  
“Yes. They are soo cute.” Sara sighed. That had been the best hour of her entire life. “Did you take a photo?”  
“No.”  
“No?” What did Sofia mean with she didn’t take a photo? There was no photo of Sara and these wonderful animals? No memory?  
“I took around five dozen photo of you and the dolphins, another four dozen only with dolphins and some of you with the ocean, the island and God only knows what else.”  
“I need a computer and a printer or a photo shop.”  
“How about some lunch first?”  
“Yes. Where’s your island?”  
“There!” Sofia pointed east.  
“Where?”  
“There. Look closely.”   
Sara squinted her eyes. There was something. That was a molehill. They could be happy when they were able to pull the boat on top so that it wouldn’t swim away. For the boat and them wasn’t enough space on the tiny beach.   
“Are you serious?”  
“Yes.”  
“It’s…”  
“Remember what I told you? About the tide?”  
“Right, so when will we see the whole island?”  
“In one hour. We stop there now when we’re ready to eat we’ll have enough space to sit next to the boat and leave it there for half an hour while we go diving.”  
“Okay.” Sara got the anchor and threw it onto the sand when they were next to the island. With a big step she was next to the boat and with that the island was full.   
“I’d offer you a seat but there is none.”  
“That’s all right. I sit on your lap.”  
“Only in your dreams.”  
“Beauty, I had you in my arms the whole night, to sit on your lap isn’t better than that.”  
“Well Golden Treasure, just because you’re smug it doesn’t mean you’re right or special.”  
“Does that mean you sleep with everybody?”  
“You’re the blonde not me.”  
“You insult me Sara. I’m the one in the boat, you’re on a tiny island that won’t give you a dry ass for more than one hour. You might want to reconsider your words.”  
“Get your sexy ass out the boat and don’t forget my lunch.”  
“Sexy ass?” Sofia smirked. That was better.   
“Ugly personality.”  
“Take the box.” Sofia handed Sara a box with their lunch.   
“This will be cozy.”  
“You like it cozy.”  
“Depends on with whom it will be cozy.”  
“Your favorite blonde.” Sofia jumped off the boat straight in Sara’s arms. “I missed you too, Beauty.”  
“I’m not your Beauty, only Rhys is allowed to call me that, Golden Treasure.”  
“You’re allowed to call me Golden Treasure. A golden treasure is special and precious I like to be that for you.”  
“You’re annoying.”  
“And you’re grumpy. Nevertheless we’re stranded on a tiny island.”  
“The good thing about this island is I only have to stay with you for a short while. Then the island is gone and we’d be shark bites.”  
“The more you try to push me away, the more you try to insult me Sara, the more I know you mean the opposite of what you say.”  
“That’s a rumor.”   
“Of course.” Sofia opened the box. The island grew with every minute more and it was enough space now for both to sit, feet in water.   
“When we’re back from our dive will the island then still be here?”  
“Depends on how much time we need for lunch. It can be that it’s gone but it shouldn’t be a problem with the anchor. We won’t stay longer than half an hour away. You know I checked on you a few times and I spotted only little things you have to change.”  
“Why don’t you tell or show the next time right away? I want to learn and get better. There are some more licenses I want.”  
“Okay, stay close to me when we’re down and I point a few things out. If you want I can give you a new book, for the next license.”  
“Oh yes, that way I can see what will be in the next test. When do you think can I make my next license?”  
“Soon. But first enjoy the license you have, don’t make too many in a short time. You need to get used to the water and it’s dangerous to overdo it.”  
“I’ll have a dive free day tomorrow and go back to snorkeling.”  
“Very good.” Sofia gave Sara the bottle with the cold water. They didn’t pack a big lunch, only a few sandwiches, water and some fruits. Same like for breakfast. The main meal would be dinner. Before that they’d get a fruit salad at the bar and talk a little bit with Rhys. It wasn’t possible to be a day away from that bar.   
“Sofia?”  
“Yes?”  
“Can I have the stone back?”  
“Sure.” Sofia pulled the stone out of her pocket. She had carried it with her in case Sara wanted it back. “Want me to knot it back around your neck?”  
“Yes please.”  
Sofia knotted the leather strap around Sara’s neck. Immediately Sara felt the warmth of the stone again. She sighed. Maybe she had to get used to it. Maybe it would stop one day. But she could just not wear it, it was a present from Rhys and it was important for him that she had it around her neck. She didn’t want to disappoint him.  
“Why do you sigh?”  
“Because the stone is warm again and I’m not talking about body heat. It’s ridiculous but sometimes the stone feels warmer and right now it does it again.”  
“Hot like it burns?”  
“No, only warm. Warmer than a usual stone. It’s your fault, do you know that?”  
“Mine?” Sofia looked perplexed at Sara. Why was it her fault? What did she do?  
“Yes. It likes to get warmer when you’re around. I think this stone likes you and if it wasn’t that important for Rhys that I wear it I’d give it to you.”  
“He gave it to you there’s a reason why he did that. He didn’t give you my stone.”  
“You don’t have one. How’s that?”  
“Because he gave me this.” Sofia lifted her arm to held up her wristband. “It makes sure I’m always alert and take care of me and the people around me.”  
“For the detective.”  
“The diving instructor. I’m responsible for my students.”  
“You’re doing a great job.”  
“And I hope it stays this way. If your stone reacts to me there’ll be a reason. Maybe you don’t hate me that much, Sara..”  
“I don’t hate you, never have.”  
“You’ll figure out what the stone wants to tell you sooner or later.”  
“Until then I make sure it doesn’t burn my skin.”  
“It will never injure you, it’s for protection.”  
“Shall we give it something to do and get prepared for the dive?”  
“Okay. You choose where we want to dive. I don’t know this area, have never dove here so stay close and be alert. I want us both back healthy and happy.”  
“I’m safe, I’ve a protection stone and a great diving instructor. Can’t get better than that.” Sara smiled and took the box back in the boat. Time to get ready for the last dive of the day. 

“The two of you together make a beautiful golden treasure. Did you find the gold treasure of the pirates?” Rhys smiled when Sofia and Sara came back from their trip and had a seat at the bar.   
“Maybe.” Sara grinned widely.   
“Beauty, you’re a smart woman you know when you found a treasure.”  
“I need a closer look.”  
“Doesn’t it shine enough?”  
“It doesn’t shine at all.”  
“Not?”  
“No, it’s quite moldy and wet.”  
“Moldy and wet? What did you find?”  
“A wreck.”  
“A wreck?”  
“Yes.”  
“Where?”  
“Uhm…Sofia?”  
“Next to the one hour island. We had lunch there and went for our last dive around the island when Sara found the wreck. I guess it’s around thirty yards deep in the water.”  
“I never heard of that wreck.”  
“Neither did I or the boss.”  
“You called him?”  
“Yes. He’ll make a few phone calls and if there are no problems he’ll send a boat to the place tomorrow to get the wreck in front of the island. Together with an expert I’ll have a closer look at it and when it’s safe we give it free for our guest. Dive around an old wreck and look for gold. A nice way to get more guests.”  
“You turned into a business woman.”  
“I’m less interested in the business than in the fun for people to dive around a wreck. I can remember the first time did that, I was so excited and thought the whole time I’ll find a treasure or weapons of pirates. At the end it was nothing more than an old fishing boat that wasn’t needed anymore. The owner wanted to get rid off it and sank it, for me it was a lot of fun. Why not offer our guests the same fun?”  
“That will make you more busy.”  
“I know. Maybe you need to organize me a treasure chest for all my money. I can hide it somewhere on my island.”  
“I’m sure you’ll be a breathtaking pirate queen. What do you think, Beauty?”  
“She’ll be a very smug and arrogant one, that’s for sure.”  
“Ouch.”  
“Sara insults me the whole day. I’ve no idea why but I guess it’s her to show me that she likes me. Plus the fact she’s a little bit mad because she isn’t invited to explore the wreck.”  
“I found it, it’s not fair to keep me out of that.” Sara pouted.   
“She has a point.” Rhys supported her. “She’s the finder, it’s her wreck.”  
“Exactly.”  
“Hey, I don’t want it this way.”  
“You excluded me from the exploration.”  
“Sara…” Sofia sighed. “It could be dangerous.”  
“You said it will get towed in lower water, close to the island, why is it more dangerous for me to explore than it is for you? If it breaks down during the exploration it’s as dangerous for you as it is for me. Or are you inviolable?”  
“No…Rhys, do anything.” Sofia pleaded.   
“She’s still right.”  
“It’s dangerous, do you want her at risk?”  
“I also don’t want you at risk.”  
“But…all right, I’ll tell the boss Sara wants to come with us. And I’ll get Andrew to join us so we’re four and can have a better look after each other.” She pocked Sara in her chest with her index finger. “You’re a pain in the ass.”  
“I learnt from the best.” Sara answered sweetly.   
“That’s the last time I’ve spent a day off with you.”  
“Maybe. If your boss and I can’t agree on a contract I’ll be gone soon.”  
“You won’t be gone when it’s Sofia birthday, that’s impossible.” Rhys said. “She’ll have two days off then.”  
“When is your birthday?”  
“In a few months when you’re far, far away and can’t annoy or offend me.”  
“Next Monday.”   
“Rhys! Don’t you have work to do?”  
“I’m working.”  
“Mind your own business.”  
“Shall I guess your age?” Sara chuckled.   
“No!”  
“Are you forty already?”  
“That’s it! I’m gone.” Sofia put her empty cocktail glass back on the bar. “I see you tomorrow, Rhys. Enjoy your time with this nasty woman.”  
“Come on Golden Treasure, you can’t just leave us.”  
“I can.”  
“She needs some anti aging crème.”  
“You are older than I’m.”  
“But I don’t look older.”  
“Bite me!”  
“She’s funny when she’s mad.”  
“Get her back here, Beauty.”  
“Why?”  
“Because that’s what friends do.”  
“Who said she’s my friend?”  
Rhys cocked his head. “What does your stone say?”  
Sara grumbled. That wasn’t a topic she wanted to talk about now. “This thing is strange. If there is such a thing as magic it’s black magic and the stone tries to fool me.”  
“Does it?”  
“Yes. It gets warm all the time when Sofia is around. Maybe you should give it to her.”  
“No, it’s yours.”  
“It reacts to Sofia.”  
“So do you.”  
“I do not!”   
“Yes you do. You get annoyed, you get mad, you feel safe, you feel comfortable, you’re happy. I’m sure she’s seen you in every mood within the last days and no matter how you felt before you felt better when she was there. You react to her, Beauty, just like your stones does. A magic stone can only do what it’s owner does. Magic is just as powerful as a the magician.”  
“Bollocks.”  
“Is it? You won’t miss her if you leave next week?”  
“No.”  
“Sara.”  
“Maybe a little bit…” Sara grumbled. “You called me Sara.”  
“Yes I did. Sometimes I need to call you by your name to make you think and not only react.”  
“I always think.”  
“In that case it might be better if you react now. Get her back, you don’t want her to go.”  
“She’s in her boat already.”  
“I can see that. Why don’t you bring her the jerry can? Other-wise she can’t start her boat.” He pointed to the jerry can Sofia had filled up before they came to the bar. Her gas tank was empty and needed a refill.   
“Okay.”  
“Good girl.”  
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a dog.”  
“Go and you’ll get a treat.”  
She stuck her tongue out, took the jerry can and walked to the boat where Sofia was swearing because her engine didn’t work.   
“Didn’t you forget anything?” Sara held up the jerry can.   
“Right.” Sofia wanted to grab it but Sara pulled it away. “What are you doing? You want me away you have to give me the jerry can. Otherwise the boat won’t move.”  
“Let me do it so I’m sure you can really leave.”  
“Okay.”  
Sara got on the boat, put the jerry can aside and pulled Sofia in her arms. “You’re cute when you pout.”  
“I don’t pout I’m mad.”  
“Yes, you’re my amazing diver?”  
“Huh?”   
“M.A.D. My amazing diver.”  
“Since when do you do word games?”  
“Since you made me think about crazy things. Come on Golden Treasure, the bartender wants you back.”  
“Why did he send you if he wants me back?”  
“Because I want you back too.”  
“I beg your pardon?”  
“Come on, I order a sundae for us. And I’m sure there’s some chocolate left from our dinner. Why don’t we eat that later?”  
“Are you sorry that you offended me?”  
“If that stops you playing drama queen I’m very sorry.”  
“Drama queen?”  
“Yes. And now get your sexy ass off the boat and back to the bar before I kick it. You look much better when you don’t pout.”  
“You scare me when you’re nice.”  
“Good. Scared people usually do what you tell them. Move it!”  
“Your apologies are as strange as you are, Sara.”  
“That’s why you take them, you like them.”  
“Maybe…but I don’t look like forty!”   
“Get back to the bar before Rhys is gone and the next bartender asks for your I.D. when you order a cocktail.”  
“Why would he do that?”  
“To make sure you’re really over twenty-one, Honey.”  
Sofia smirked. “That’s sounds like a good apology. It’s taken.”  
“Thanks.” Sara got her arm around Sofia’s waist and pulled her with her. Sometimes she had the feeling they were acting like teenager and she liked it. She had never behaved like that when she was a teenager. It was good to do so now. 

“So, what does our boss have to do to keep you here?” Sofia asked.   
“He needs to make me a very good offer.”  
“Like what?”  
“I want your island.”  
“He can’t give you my island because it’s mine. Choose something else.”  
“My own island.”  
“The only island beside mine and this one is the one he lives on. You won’t get that either. You can have a bungalow or a room in the staff house.”  
“Not my world.”  
“Rhys, your Beauty will leave us next week. She and the boss won’t find something to agree on.”  
“He has to double her salary so she can afford to move into a bungalow and has enough money for traveling.”  
“Like I said she’ll leave next week and we need somebody else for her job.”  
“If it’s that important to you that I stay you can give me your island and move in a bungalow or the staff house.”  
“Sara, you won’t get my island.”  
“She doesn’t want me here, Rhys.”  
“She does. It’s none of my business what you do with your island, Golden Treasure but why don’t you get yourself an island mate? There’s enough space for the two of you.”  
“You know my bungalow.”  
“I do. I never said you should get yourself a housemate, I said an island mate. All you need is an extra bedroom and a bathroom. This way Sara can stay on the island and you don’t have to live alone anymore.”  
“What makes you think I don’t want to live alone?”  
“I know you. You don’t like to be alone all the time. That’s why you stay here so often, to have some company.”  
“Why would I want to have her around? She’s mean to me.”  
“It’s her way to tell you she likes you. Maybe you can teach her some other ways of saying it.”  
“With flowers for example.” Sofia grinned at Sara.  
“A coconut on your head?”  
“See, again.” Sofia sighed. “I get myself over to my island. See you two tomorrow for breakfast.”  
“Wait, I’ve my bag still in the boat. See you tomorrow, Rhys.”  
“Good night my lovely ladies. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow morning.”  
“Night, night, don’t let the voodoo magic bite.”  
“Magic doesn’t bite, Sara.”  
“You never what magic can do, don’t you?” Sara blinked at him and followed Sofia to the boat. It was dark and the sky was full of stars. After the full moon of last night the moon was today still very round and gave enough light for Sofia to get home safely.   
Sara got her bag out off the shelf.   
“Is it safe to get over when it’s dark?”  
“Yes. I have lights, the ocean is calm and the moon gives me some light too. It’s not the first time that I take the boat in the dark.”  
“Okay. I see you tomorrow.”  
“For breakfast at the bar. Sleep tight, Sara.”  
“You too.” Sara pulled Sofia in her arms. “Thanks for the great day. It was truly amazing.”  
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed the day too. We should repeat it soon.”  
“Maybe next week when you turn twenty-one?”  
Sofia laughed. “Yeah, maybe. If you’ll be here and don’t have to pack.”  
“Even if I have to pack I’ll find the time to spend the day with you.”  
“I hope you’ll stay. Don’t dismiss the job because of the accommodation, I’m sure we can work something out about that. And if you have nightmares this night give me a call.” Out of the blue Sofia had Sara’s cell phone in her hands and handed it over to the brunette.  
“Where did you that from?” Sara had left her cell phone together with other electronic things in a safe when she arrived. Those things weren’t allowed on the island because they made you work and not relax.   
“Lets say I used my charm to get it.”  
“Looks like.”  
“I promised Esther you’d only use it in emergency and not to work.”  
“I don’t have a job and can’t use it for work.”  
“That’s what I told her. There’s a sticker with my number on the back, give me a call and I’ll come over. Okay?”  
“I’ll be fine.”  
“Sara, that wasn’t an answer to my question.”  
“Yes I’ll give you a call.”  
“Thanks. Sleep tight.” Sofia kissed Sara’s cheek.   
“You too.” Sara smiled and waited a minute before she turned and walked to her bungalow. What a great day. She had been swimming with dolphins, had two dives, found a wreck and had lunch on an island that was only visible for an hour. A day full with special things. 

Monday

“And?”  
“Good evening to you too, Sofia.” Sara chuckled. What strange way to say hello of the blonde after they hadn’t seen each other since the morning.   
“Yeah, good evening, hello Rhys. What did you say, Sara?”  
“I think she spent too much time in the sun, what do you think, Rhys? She’s talking weird. How can I possible remember all the things I’ve said today?”  
“My guess is she wants to know only one answer.” Rhys grinned and gave Sofia a cocktail.   
“You know exactly what I want to hear!”  
“I’m sure you also have an answer you want to hear. Why don’t you answer the question yourself so you won’t be disappointed.”  
“Sara Sidle, if you don’t give me my bloody answer right away I’ll punch it out of your stubborn head.”  
“You’ve got an anger issue.”   
“I’ll have to run away because I killed you soon so an anger issue won’t be my biggest problem.”  
“You don’t want to kill your colleague.”  
“You agreed?”  
“Seems like you also have some problems with your ears.”  
“You said yes!” Sofia hugged Sara and pulled her in her arms. That was the answer she wanted to hear. “I’m happy you stay.”  
“How could I refuse to live in paradise? Even when I have to see you every day.”  
“That was a reason why you took the job. You wanted to be with me.”  
“You’re smug.”  
“I’m right. Rhys, she’ll stay.” Sofia kept Sara in her arms like she wanted to make sure the other woman won’t change her mind. “She’ll stay with us.”  
“I know. She had no other choice, she’s a smart woman and smart women make sensible decisions.”  
“Yes. We need to celebrate that.”  
“Don’t you want to let go of me before you celebrate?”  
“No. This way I can make sure you’ll stay for sure.”  
“I promise I won’t run away.” Sara laughed.   
“Good. Rhys, can I have something decent to eat, please?”  
“With decent you mean you don’t want a salad.”  
“Exactly.”  
“I can offer you some pizza.”  
“Perfect. Sara?”  
“I ordered cake.”  
“We can share. I give you half of my pizza if you give me half of your cake.”  
“Deal.”  
“When you agree on things it’s much nicer than when you’re arguing.” Rhys got a pizza out of the fridge and put it in the oven. It was a special oven that made the pizza ready to eat within two minutes.   
“Dinner for two.” He put the pizza and the cake in front of Sara and Sofia.   
“Thanks James.” Sofia smiled.   
“Even when the pizza isn’t fresh you make it like it’s fresh, Rhys.” Sara picked picket a piece of bacon off her pizza Hawaii. “Open up!” She ordered Sofia and fed her with the bacon.   
“Sorry Beauty, I don’t have a vegetarian pizza left.”  
“That’s all right, I can feed Sofia with my bacon.”  
“Will you also feed me with the cake?”  
“I thought you’ll feed me in return with the cake.”  
“Deal.”  
“Hey.” Sara pulled her fingers out of Sofia’s mouth. “Only the bacon not my finger.”  
“Sorry, you’re delicious too.”  
“You’ll have an upset stomach if you do that again. My fist will make sure of that.”  
“You wouldn’t punch me, Beauty.”  
“Shut up! Only Rhys is allowed to call me that, I told you that already.”  
“Apparently I didn’t listen.”  
“Bitch.”  
“Love you too. Tell me, what did you and the boss talk. How did he get you?”  
“He offered me a nice salary and we have ideas about my accommodation.”  
“Ideas?”  
“Yes. I will take a bungalow instead of a room because the idea of sharing a house with many people doesn’t make me happy. For everything else I need a serious conversation with you.”  
“Me?”  
“Yes.”  
“Why?”  
“Not now, later. Now is dinner time.”  
“We can talk over dinner.”  
“Okay. Yesterday you told me not to worry about the accom-modation we could work something out. What did you mean with that? Or aren’t you interested in working something out after I agreed.”  
“I keep my word. You don’t want to share with many people, I can understand that. What about sharing with me?”  
“You have only one bedroom, Sofia.”  
“I know. We can get you a bedroom and a bathroom and expand my bungalow a little bit. Can you live with sharing a kitchen and a living room?”  
“You offer me to share your bungalow?”  
“Yes.”  
“Why?”  
“Because I like the idea of sharing with you. Maybe it will be a little bit bitchy every now and then but I’m sure we won’t kill each other. Or is the idea of sharing with me for you even worse than sharing a house with other people?”  
“No. But…how do we get these two rooms and everything else we need for them on your island?”  
“With a boat.”  
“Okay.”  
“Don’t worry about that we’ll find a way. You’ll be my renter so I take care of the bungalow and the rooms.”  
“Do I have to talk with you about the rent first or can I just say yes?”  
“Just say yes.”  
“Yes.”  
“Great!” Sofia hugged Sara again. “I’m happy to have you around. We need to get you a boat too. And a boat driver permit.”  
“Will you be my teacher again?”  
“Not this time, sorry.”  
“In that case I’ve to settle for the second best teacher.”  
“Looks like. But you can have the best bungalow mate.”  
“True. Tell me what time do you have to work tomorrow?”  
“Ten.”  
“Shall we have some drinks at the beach?”  
“This one or my island?”  
“You can’t drive your boat anymore when we had drinks so I’d say you have to make the decision if you want to drink some real cocktails with me or settle for juice.”  
“Real cocktail please. You can take your things over and stay. Get used to your new home.”  
“I’ll be right back. Try to talk him into giving us some more cake for the night and maybe a cocktail or two…like you know, he mixes everything beside the alcohol.” The brunette blinked cocky.   
“Understand.” Sofia laughed and watch Sara leaving to get her things.   
Wasn’t that crazy? She had offered Sara to stay with her and the brunette had agreed. Was it a good idea? Or were they about to make a huge mistake? Could it work out with them together in more or less the same house? Or would they try to kill each other after a week? It was too late to change anything, Sofia had agreed, she had to try it.   
“Are you shrinking from your own courage, Golden Treasure?”  
“No!”  
Rhys smirked.   
“What?”  
“You worry if it works out.”  
“It’s a realistic thought, Sara and me…we temp to fight too often about unimportant things. Only to piss each other off. What if we will do the same when we live together?”  
“Don’t you have better things on your mind than fighting with her?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean your smile when she’s around, the way you look at her, how you hug her, pull her closer. Don’t tell me you haven’t recognized that yourself.”  
“You spend too much time with voodoo, Rhys.” Sofia got up and walked away.   
“Not voodoo Sofia. Magic, yes but another magic than voodoo. I’m sure you’ll soon find out what I mean. Allow yourself to see it too.” Rhys said quietly. 

“Where are our cocktails and the cake?” Sara asked when she climbed on Sofia’s boat.   
“Cocktail and cake…? Sorry, I forgot…”  
“Are you all right?” Sara furrowed her brows. Something was wrong with Sofia. Usually the blonde wouldn’t forget to ask about cake.   
“Yes, yes, everything is fine…let’s get started…” She turned on the engine and they left the beach.   
“Okay.” Sara was sure something was wrong but it seemed to be the wrong moment to talk about it. She watched the main island getting smaller and only two minutes later their boat touched the sand of Sofia’s island.   
“Give me a minute and I’ll get us two cocktails. Shall I take your things with me?”  
“Yes, thanks.” Sara made sure the boat was safely tied to the little dock. A few yards away was an ordinary hammock between two palms and offered a nice view over the ocean. Sara sat in it, legs out, swinging a bit. She could watch the sunset this way.   
“Got you a cocktail.” Sofia came with two cocktails to her.   
“Thanks. Come on.” Sara petted to the place next to her.   
Carefully Sofia sat next to her. “You found us a nice place.”  
“It was you who put the hammock here you found the nice place.”  
“Thanks.”   
It was still there, Sara could feel it. Whatever was wrong with Sofia, it was still in her head. A faked smile couldn’t make Sara believe everything was fine.   
“What’s wrong, Sofia?”  
“I don’t know what you mean.”  
“Yes you do.”  
“Everything is fine, Sara.”  
“It was fine until I was back with my stuff. If you don’t want me here tell me. I can leave, that is not a problem. But don’t let me hang in here like a child that did something wrong without knowing what it was. Talk to me. Please. Is it because of the job? Did you change your mind about sharing the island? That’s not a problem, really. Just say it. I…”  
“It’s not, Sara. I’m happy you’ll stay, I told you so.”  
“But?”  
“No but.”  
Sara got up, left her cocktail under the hammock and walked to the water. To know something was wrong without knowing what it was, was something she hated. She hated being in the nimbus. Especially when there was nothing to work with, nothing that could help her out, nothing to give her answers. She couldn’t force Sofia to talk to her, she had to wait until the other woman changed her mind and told her what was wrong.   
“I’m sorry.” Sofia was next to Sara.   
“Just tell me what I did wrong this time.”  
“You didn’t do anything wrong Why do you think you did something wrong?”  
“Because since I’m back with my stuff for tonight you act strange and usually it’s me who fucks things up. I just want to know what it was this so I won’t do it again. I try to learn and not to repeat my mistakes, Sofia, I really do. And I want to change and be less of a bitch and make it easier for you and…”  
“Sara, shut up. Please.” Sofia sighed and buried her face in her hands for a few seconds before she looked at Sara again. Her heart ached when she saw the desperate look in the brunette’s eyes. She never wanted to hurt her.   
“I’m sorry. You didn’t do something wrong. It’s not you, it’s me.”  
“Why? What happened in between me leaving to get my things and coming back? Something had happened. Not only because of how you behave but also because of the cake. It’s not your style to forget something like that.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t be. Just tell me what it is, maybe we can work it out together.”  
“No.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because…it’s something I’ve to work out myself.”  
“It’s no weakness to ask for help. Something I had to learn as well.”  
“Maybe I’m just crazy.”  
“You’re not crazy. Remember what you said when I told you about my stone? And I told you that you’ll think I’m crazy.”  
“That you’re not.”  
“Neither are you. It can’t be worse than a stone that lives.”  
Sofia sighed. She knew she owned Sara an explanation but how could she give her one without making a fool out of herself? And without really knowing herself what was wrong with her.   
“Can we sit down?”  
“Sure.”   
They sat in the sand, only a yard away from the beach.   
“It’s something Rhys said.” Sofia started slowly.   
“Rhys?”  
“Yes.”  
“He’s your friend.”  
“I know. And sometimes I want to hate him more than my biggest enemy.”  
“Why?”  
“Because he is always right and points out things you don’t want to see. You do everything to ignore them and he just says them right into your face.”  
“The truth?”  
“Yes. That makes it so bad.”  
“And it has something to do with me.” That wasn’t a question, it was a statement.   
“Yes.” Sofia swallowed. Maybe it was better to get over it.   
“Did I do anything wrong?”  
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong.”  
“But?”  
“Remember your stone? That you said it reacts when I’m around?”  
“Yes. It still does that. Was quite busy the last days.”  
Sofia smiled a bit. “Is it busy right now?”  
Sara touched her stone. “No.”   
“When was it warm the last time?”  
“What has that…sorry…when we made the decision to come here, when you told me to stay here.”  
“Your stone likes me.”  
“Yes.”  
“If I had a stone it would do the same.”  
“Like you? Probably.”  
“No, it would react to you.”  
“Why?”  
“Because…it would like you.”  
“You never know.”  
“Yes I do.”  
“How can you know?”  
“Because…damn it.” Sofia closed her eyes and let herself fall backwards in the sand.   
“Sofia?”  
“Remember cases when you thought it’s better not to know the truth?”  
“It’s never better not to know the truth. It can make things easier for a moment but it makes it more difficult over a longer period.”  
“Maybe.”  
“Sofia.” Sara touched carefully the blonde’s hand who flinched under the touch so that Sara pulled her hand away.   
“I’ll ruin everything.”  
“What will you ruin?”  
“Us. Our friendship.”  
“I don’t think you’ll do that. Why would you?”  
“Because…I will if I won’t stop talking.”  
“You can’t ruin anything with the truth. Especially not our friendship.”  
“That sounds too good to be truth.”  
“It’s true, Sofia.”   
“Sara…I…I think I’ve…feelings for you…not the kind of feelings you are supposed to have for a friend. I…I am happy when you’re around, I enjoy the time with you, I miss you when you’re not there. This morning when I didn’t know if you will stay or leave next week it was like torture. I was so afraid you could be gone within a week, that I’ll never see you again. That was like tearing my heart apart.   
When you told me you’ll stay I was the happiest person in the world. I knew you will be here, we can spend time together and I won’t lose you. The downside was that I knew I have to work something out because of my feelings. It gets harder to ignore them and it’s impossible to tell myself that they are only… stupid crazy bullshit in my head. Not real.”  
Sara put her hand back on Sofia’s. “Sofia…”  
“I’m sorry Sara. I ruined the evening and probably the rest of our friendship and I can understand if you don’t want to have anything to do with me anymore…”  
“Shut up.” Sara laid down and pulled Sofia in her arms. “You didn’t ruin anything. Stop torturing yourself, you didn’t do anything wrong and you’re not to blame for your feelings. Beside I think it’s a compliment so no reason to feel sorry.”  
“But…”  
“No but. I’m proud that you told me what’s up with you and glad to know that I’m important to you. It’s a nice feeling to be important.”  
“You’re not mad?”  
A reasonable question. A few weeks ago Sara had been out of control if Sofia told her something like this. Or back in the days when they worked together, Sara probably would have refused to work with the blonde. But things had changed and so had her point of view.   
“Not at all.”   
“And you don’t want to leave right away to be as far as possible away from me?”  
“No way!” She really didn’t.   
“Oh…” Sofia was speechless. This wasn’t what she expected might happen. This was better, this was good. No fights, no tears and no problems because of what she felt.   
“I want to sit with you in the hammock, finish the cocktail have another one and spend some time with you watching the ocean. Does that sound to you like something you can enjoy too?”  
“Yes.”   
“Good. Come on, our cocktails are getting warm.” Sara pulled Sofia in her arms and kissed her cheek. “And stop crying, you look at least like thirty when you cry and not like twenty anymore.”  
Sofia laughed a bit and wiped her tears away with the backside of her hand. It didn’t hurt to tell Sara the truth. It wasn’t something she enjoyed but it wasn’t as bad as expected and she felt much better now that she had told her the truth. Like most times when you told people the truth. Sometimes the thought of it could scare you, make your heart stop beating for a moment but in the end it felt good and you were released you said what you had on your mind.   
***  
“How do you feel?” Sara ask Sofia carefully after they had finished their first cocktail in silence.   
“The question is how do you feel? This isn’t what you wanted.”  
“Sofia.” Sara got her arm around Sofia and pulled her closer. “What do I have to do to make you feel not guilty? You didn’t do anything wrong.”  
“But I feel like I ruined our day.”  
“Is there anything I can do to make you lose this feeling?”  
“I don’t know.”  
Sara looked at the ocean. This was complicated. Not because Sofia had told her about her feelings more because the blonde had admitted to have feelings she didn’t want to have. It was something that was there and Sofia had stopped to ignore it and accepted it. Or at least said it out loud so she couldn’t take them back, couldn’t ignore them anymore.   
“You know I envy you.”  
“Me? Why?”  
“Because you said out loud what you feel. You are not afraid of your feeling, don’t try to bury them somewhere so you can ignore them because they might not be what you want, might make your life not easier. But you are able to say them out loud and that’s something I can’t do. I always try to ignore unpleasant feelings, try to forget them, keep them out of my life. Even when I know they’re not unpleasant in reality, they’re normal, they’re good. But they are something I can’t handle at that moment, something that scares me in general and so I try not to listen to them. Not healthy and not smart.”  
“Telling somebody you like her when she doesn’t want to know that isn’t smart either.”  
“Just because I haven’t thought of that you might like me it doesn’t mean I don’t want to know that. I told you it’s a nice feeling to be important to you. I assume you don’t like everybody.”  
“No.”  
“See. I’m special in a good way, that’s a good feeling.”  
“Okay.” Sofia closed her eyes. Suddenly she was very, very exhausted. She had a long day at work and telling Sara about her feelings made her psychological tired. “Would it be all right if I end the night for me and go to sleep?”  
“Of course.” Sara got up.  
“You can stay here if you want.”  
“No, I catch some sleep too. From next week on I’ve to work and no time for sleep.”  
“The bed is ready for you.”  
“What about you?”  
“I take the hammock.”  
“Isn’t the bed more comfortable?”  
“I’ll be fine.”  
“That’s not a proper answer.”  
“I won’t let you sleep in the hammock.”  
“We could share your bed – if that’s okay for you.”  
Sofia stared at Sara. “Is it okay for you?”  
“Yes. Absolutely. And this is also okay.” She pulled Sofia in her arms. “Do you think I’ll try to avoid you? Use your brain, Sofia. Besides, my stones wants me next to you.”  
“Huh?”  
“When I thought of taking the hammock alone there was no reaction when I asked you to share your bed it was warm again. Whatever that means for me, I know my stone likes you and according to Rhys it knows what’s good for me. So far you haven’t kicked or slap me when we shared a bed.”  
“I try to stay on my side.”  
“In that case I come over and hug you…cute, you blush.”  
“I don’t.” Sofia felt exactly how her head became red and she knew she looked like a tomato. Something that made her blush even more.   
“You do.”  
“And you snore.”  
Sara laughed. This time she would stay cool. “I don’t believe that.”  
“You do.”  
“I’ll tape my sleep the next time and if you lied to me I’ll tickle you until you can’t breathe anymore.”  
“That’s mean.”  
“That’s me. I’m your mean bitch colleague, always have always will. But seriously Sofia, is it okay for you when we share your bed or would it be better for you when sleep in separate rooms? I don’t want to make it harder on you.”  
“No, that’s fine. I like to be close to you. If that’s good for me I’m not sure yet but I think it would be harder if you stay away.”  
“Then I won’t do that.”  
“Your stone wouldn’t let you stay away.” Sofia smiled.   
“I’ll throw it away again.”  
“Only to whine that you want it back an hour later?”  
“I didn’t whine.”  
“You missed it. You missed that it feels warm when we’re together.”  
“I like you less smug much more.”  
“You like me anyway.”  
“Don’t bet on that.”  
“I’d bet my life on that because it’s true.”  
“Do I really want to live with such a smug person? I have to think about that again.” Sara got her arm around Sofia and pulled her towards the bungalow. Yes she liked Sofia but that was no reason to tell the blonde so. Not when she was smug. 

“I owe you an explanation.” Sofia gave Sara a second pillow. It was a kind of strange to prepare her bed for two people, she hadn’t done that for a long time.   
“Do you?”  
“Yes.”  
“What about?” There wasn’t an open question. Nothing Sara could remember of.   
“The island. Why it’s my island.”  
“Oh, that one. Yeah, how you do get it? I’m sure you didn’t buy it. A detective doesn’t make enough money to buy an island like this.”  
“You’re right.”  
“With what?”  
“A detective can’t afford an island like this and I didn’t buy it. It was a present.”  
“A present?”  
“Who gives you a present like this?”  
“My boss.”  
“And he did that because of your lovely smile?”  
“Sara, just because I’m a blonde and very sexy it doesn’t mean I sleep with everybody to get what I want. My boss, our boss, is a married man and I don’t have any affairs with married men. Never. Also not with men who are in a relationship. So no, I didn’t sleep with him to get the island.”  
“Sorry.”  
“Don’t worry about it. I’m kind of used to it, a lot of people think I’m cheap. Okay, the island wouldn’t be cheap but you know what I mean.”  
“Yes. Arm?”  
On Sofia’s face appeared a wide smile. “That’s an offer I can’t put down.” She placed her head on Sara’s arm. Not only was she closer to the brunette this way, it was also easier to look at her with the arm under her head.   
“If you don’t lose this smug smile right now you’ll lose the arm.” Sara said as serious as she could.  
“You wouldn’t do that to me. Why don’t get we back to the main topic? My island and how it became mine.”  
“I’m listening.”  
“It was during my first days as a diving instructor. Like most times when you found something new you like, you spend a lot of time doing it. I was the whole time in the water, not only during my work time. One evening I was out with my boat, on my way back home when I saw a boy in the water. He waved his arms helpless, struggled with the quite high waves and was obviously caught in the outgoing tide.”  
“Sounds familiar.” Sara swallowed. Immediately Sofia placed her hand on Sara’s to calm her down.   
“He was around six or seven and all I could see was his dark hair and how his head suddenly vanished under water. As fast as possible I got my boat to him. A few yards before I reached him his went under water. Without thinking I jumped into the water and dove after him.   
Luckily I got him right away, grabbed his hand, pulled up and managed to get him to the boat. He had lost conscious, I pulled onto the boat, started CPS. It had to be his and my lucky day, he responded after a few seconds, spilled a lot of water, coughed but was fine. Now I had time to really look at him. It wasn’t a guest I rescued it was the son of my boss.   
I got him home, left and went back to my room in the staff house. Less than an hour later my boss, his wife and his son stood in front of my door. They wanted to thank me and didn’t want to hear that I did nothing more than my job. I denied the offer for a boost of money nor did I want any flashy clothes. What for? I’m a diving instructor I wear a wet suit and they are all the same.   
The next day my boss came along and told me he won’t accept that I don’t want anything for saving his son. He told me if I don’t want money he had something else and I had to take it, no matter if I liked it or not. Not the best things to tell me but when he said he wanted to give me the island I was too surprised to say no. I managed a why and if he was sure which answered with that the life of his son is worth more than money and he’d owe me favors for the rest of his life. The island was the best he could think of. It gave me the chance to have my own place, not to share and it was the most special thing he could think of. He and his family lived there before they moved to their new place, the island was used for guests of the family, now it was mine.   
People don’t offer you an island in paradise every day so I took it. As a detective I wasn’t supposed to take presents for my job, as a diving instructor my job is to teach people how to dive. Saving a boy’s life isn’t part of the job so I made the decision it wasn’t a present for my work and I can take it. One of the best decisions I ever made.   
Now you know how I got my island. No sex, no blackmailing. Disappointed?”  
“Not at all.” Sara laughed and hugged Sofia. “This version suits you much better. You’re a heroine. From a detective who saves lives on the streets to a lifeguard who saves lives in the water. It’s your destiny to save people.”  
“I’m don’t think so, that’s sounds…too much.”  
“It’s true.”  
“Lets say sometimes I might have the talent to be at the right place at the right time and help people out.”  
“You help your neighbor out when she needs milk or sugar, you save lives.”  
“Somehow it’s always my job to make sure people are fine. No matter if on the streets or in the water.”  
“Lucky for all of us you’re very good at all the jobs you do.”  
“Even as a CSI?”  
“Yes.” Sara blinked. “Even as a CSI.” She pulled her arm away and Sofia’s head fell down onto the pillow. “I told you if you don’t lose the smug smile you’ll lose the arm.”  
“That’s all right I take the shoulder.” Still smiling the blonde snuggled closer onto Sara and placed her head on the brunette’s shoulder, an arm over the belly. This was better than the arm. 

Tuesday

“Marcus!” Sofia’s yaw dropped down. Her eye must play her a practical joke. She forgot her boat she wanted to tie to the dock and starred at the man in front of her. Over six feet tall, a handsome face like it was made by an artist, shinning blue eyes and a smile like one of these people you see in TV advertise-ments for toothpaste.   
“Hola Belleza, I knew I’d find you here. Come on, give me un beso.”   
Sara observed how a tall very good looking Latin guy lifted Sofia up in the air and gave her a big kiss straight on her lips. Sofia’s arms got around his neck and she held on to him. They definitely knew each other.   
“What are you doing here?”  
“Well, I know my mujer muy guapa, you love to run at eight in the morning and I thought I’ll join you like in good old times. What do you think?”  
“I think that’s a great idea.”  
“Okay, ready when you are.”  
“Give me a sec.” Sofia turned to Sara. “I’ll see you later. Lunch at twelve?”  
“Sure.”  
“Good. Come on, I make you eat my sand.”  
“And I make you do other things, Querida.” He slapped Sofia’s backside and started to run.   
“Hey!” The blonde followed him, closing the distance between them fast. With a slap on his backside she overtook him.   
Sara followed them with her eyes until she couldn’t see them anymore. That was a strange situation. Confused she went to the bar. Maybe Rhys could give her an explanation after Sofia didn’t bother to do so nor did she introduce Sara to this man.   
“Good morning Beauty, how are you?”  
“I’m fine…who was that?”  
“Marcus.”  
“I heard that. Does he work here too?”  
“No, he’s a special guest.”  
“A special guest?” He had to be very special the way Sofia greeted him.   
“Wasn’t that obvious?”  
“Well it looked like they know each other.”  
“They do. Marcus has been here before and he didn’t stay for a short time.”  
“Are they…were they…?”  
“I told you she likes beauty.” And Sofia told her the night before she had feelings for Sara. This morning it didn’t look like that. It looked like she was over the moon to see this poster boy.  
“She let him slap her backside.”  
“I’d let you slap my backside too if you want.”  
“No, thanks. I prefer a breakfast.”  
“Breakfast cocktail and a fruit salad. Very well. Anything else I can do for you?”  
“You can explain the stone to me.”  
“Again?”  
“I haven’t understood it yet. Tell me why it gets warm. And don’t give me any answers I can understand in a million different ways. I want a straight forward answer.”  
“When does your stone confuses you.”  
“For example when it gets warm.”  
“And it does that when?”  
“It was extreme last night when I pulled Sofia in my arms. And don’t give me the bullshit you’d feel warm too when you had Sofia in your arms.”  
“You’re a little bit oversensitive today. Anything happened?”  
“No.”  
“She told you about her feelings.”  
Irritated and surprised Sara starred at the bartender. Did Sofia tell him about her feelings? What else did she tell him?  
“She told you about them.”  
“No. She didn’t have to. All I had to do was to look into her eyes and I saw it. Usually I’d tell you not to hurt her but I know you won’t do that. You want a straight forward answer about the stone, fine but don’t complain or argue when you don’t like it, Sara. The stone reacts to Sofia because of your feelings for her. I’ve no idea what exactly these feelings are but I can tell – not only because of the stone – you have some. She’s important to you and she’s a reason why you took the job here. You found already out that the stone has something to do with Sofia, you knew it when you realized it gets warm whenever she’s around or you think of her. It can be a kind of love you have for a very good friend, it can be the kind of love you have for a family member. You told me your colleagues in Vegas were like your family and it can be also that it’s the kind of love you feel for a lover. The only one who knows exactly what it is are you.”  
“I…I like her.” At least Sara thought that she liked the other woman. Or was like the wrong word? She didn’t mind her…all right she liked to spend time with Sofia and it was because of her. Why to yourself when you knew you were lying? So yes, she liked her. Now it was out in her head and it didn’t hurt.   
“Good.”  
“Do you think it’s a good idea when I move in with Sofia? Shouldn’t we have some distance between us?”  
“Do you feel better when you have a distance between her and you?”  
“No. I feel good when I’m with her.”  
“That should answer your question.”  
“It answers the question from my side, what about her?”  
“I think she feels better with you around.”  
“That’s what she said yesterday.”  
“Believe her. She has no reason to lie.”  
“Yeah…I think I change and go out for a little snorkeling tour. Do you know anything new about the wreck?”  
“The boss sorted everything out, they will bring it in tomorrow. You can do me a favor and find out the name of it.”  
“Why?”  
“Maybe there’s a nice story about it. Maybe you found a real pirate ship.”  
“First voodoo and now pirates. At least pirates existed. You are too much into stories, Rhys.”  
“In every story a little truth, Beauty.”

“I thought Sofia had to work this morning.” Sara furrowed her brows. In a distance she saw Sofia and this guy she went on a run with in the morning. They walked side by side at the beach, not noticing anybody around because of their conversation.   
“Probably he was her job.”  
“He looks somehow familiar…he really doesn’t work here? I could swear I’ve seen his face somewhere.”  
“I bet you have.” Rhys laughed. “He’s a model. His pictures are everywhere. In newspapers, magazines, on TV, he even was on a twenty by fifty yards poster at Times Square. Marcus, the most sexy and wanted model at the moment.”  
“Oh.” That was why she thought he looked familiar. “And they know each other well?”  
“If you want to know if they were a couple just ask her, Beauty.”  
Sara felt how her head turned red. She didn’t say that, she didn’t ask that. It wasn’t her business and it wasn’t important. If he made Sofia happy it was all right. The blonde could use some fun.   
“That’s none of my business.”  
“Okay.”   
She watched them coming closer. Sofia slapped playfully Marcus’ side so that the man grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder like she weight nothing. With all these muscles he had she weighted probably nothing for him. Sofia’s legs fidgeted in the air until he let her back down. She jumped on his back and pulled his hair a bit. They definitely looked like they were close and knew each other well.   
“Hold on, Fury.” Sofia ordered Marcus when they arrived at the bar. “Good boy.”  
“Are you my treat?”  
“No, you can order your treat. Hey.” Sofia hugged Sara. “How are you?”  
“I’m fine.”  
“Good. I forgot to introduce the two of you this morning. Sofia, that’s Marcus. Marcus, that’s Sofia.”  
“Hey.” Marcus gave Sara his nicest smile. She wasn’t impressed. “Sofia told me a few things about you. You worked together and you’ll work here soon.”  
“Yes. She didn’t mention you.” Sara knew that sounded bitchy. She didn’t feel sorry for it.   
“Doesn’t surprise me. I’m her little secret.”  
“You’re quite tall for a little secret, Marcus.”  
“For you I go down on my knees.”  
“Not necessary. Rhys, can I have some fries and salad, please?”  
“Sure. Salad and steak for the guy? Chicken and vinegar sauce?”  
“Great memory, Rhys.”  
“That’s my job. Sara?”  
“I take a pizza.”  
“Vegetarian is back on the list.”  
“Perfect. Can you double the cheese?”  
“Sure.”  
“Calories.”  
“Your natural enemy.” Sofia grinned at Marcus. “Fat and calories, the bastards that ruin your six pack.”  
“Yes. Not everybody is a natural beauty, some have to work for it and have to avoid certain meals to stay fit.”  
“And become the sexiest and most wanted model on earth.”  
“No pain no glory. But I still want a barbecue with you. Guess what I bought for you, which little calories and fat bombs?”  
“You didn’t!”  
“Oh yes. T-bone and a triple chocolate mud cake. If you have dinner with me tonight you can have it.”  
“Sounds…no, I’ve dinner plans with Sara.”  
“That’s all right. We can rearrange our dinner.” Sara said fast.   
“No, we…”  
“I’ll be around for a while, remember I’ll work here. Have your steak and we’ll have our dinner later.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes.”  
“Perfect. What time do you want to eat?” Marcus took the chance.   
“Sevenish?”  
“After we had a run?”  
“Yes.”  
“And a walk after the dinner?”  
“We will need one.”  
“A swim to your island?”  
“Not with a full stomach.”  
“Okay, we’ll have that later.”  
Suddenly Sara felt sick. “Sorry. I get the pizza later, Rhys.” She jumped up and left the bar.   
“Sara!” Sofia wanted to follow but Marcus held her back.  
“She’ll be back soon, I bet she just had an upset stomach, she held it. Something wrong for breakfast or some swallowed ocean water.”  
“I hope she’s all right.” Sofia wasn’t happy with letting Sara go. The problem was she had to eat her lunch and go straight back to work. There wasn’t much time on her hands today. 

For the fifth or sixth time Sara had to read the same sentence again. Most of the times…and her mind was gone again. Precious. She wasn’t able to concentrate for a few seconds to finish this stupid sentence. What was wrong with her? She loved books, she could read for hours why was it impossible for her to finish the sentence today? Why did she see the words but they never arrived in her brain so she really saw them, understood them?   
“Screw that.” With a loud bang she closed the book. It was stupid to try something that didn’t work. Why putting a lot of time and effort in something that wasn’t worth it? Or not worth but hopeless. There was no way she could get her mind off ….Sof…get her mind to concentrate on the book. She hated herself for that and she hated herself even more for knowing exactly why it was like this. And wasn’t able to change it.   
She had spent some time with Rhys after she was back from her second snorkeling trip, had some fruit salad she didn’t really touch and a cocktail with a double shot. No help. Rhys tried everything to make her smile but she felt like she wasn’t the best company and didn’t want him to concentrate too much on her. There were plenty of other guests around he had to care for. People who had a good time and were fun to be with, fun to spend time with. Not a bad mood bitch like she was.   
She didn’t feel like dinner, she didn’t feel like going to the hula dance competition that was today next to the bar. The main price was a voucher over a dozen cocktails with alcohol. She felt like getting drunk but not with company. Alone. Just what she was right now. Alone. She should get herself a bottle of vodka or rum and get drunk in front of her bungalow. Or even better somewhere on the beach, a lonely bay nobody else would come along.   
God she was a pity for every human being. She sat here, sad and drowning in self-pity while she was in paradise and had every reason to be happy. She had a new job, a job here, in paradise. She didn’t have to go back to Vegas, didn’t have to work law enforcement anymore. No more bodies, no more killers, no more families she had to visit with bad news. She could spend her time with happy people. Living people. Surrounded by breathtaking beaches, amazing corals and stunning sunsets and sunrises. There was no reason to be sad. In a bad mood. Maybe she should order some cheese and cracker to her whine.   
All this because this stupid arrogant supermodel arrived and behaved like he owned the place. Mister Universe. Mister Irresistible. There was no way his body wasn’t the work of a few overpaid doctors. This snow white grin wasn’t real, it looked like bleach. And his golden skin, that had to be a lotion or even body color. Same for the deep black hair. Dyed. It wouldn’t surprise her when he wore contact lenses to get these deep blue eyes. The whole guy was a fake and a poser. Model. No brain, too weak for sport and too stupid to get a graduation. Loser like him could only become model or somebody’s toy boy.   
Oh how she wished she could smack a coconut into his face. Break his perfect nose. That would make her happy and smile.   
Hands got around her and she pulled into somebody’s arms. Her first instinct was to fight when she felt that her stone was warm. Glowed.   
“What are you doing here all by yourself? There’s a party at the bar.” Sofia pulled her closer, placed her head on Sara’s shoulder.   
“I don’t feel like hula. Shouldn’t you be with your model, his steak and cake? You wanted to enjoy the evening with them.” And not with her. She didn’t have a steak, no cake and she wasn’t a model. Successful model who had a huge poster of himself hanging on Times Square.   
“Yeah my stomach really wanted to have the steak and the cake, it was looked forward for them the whole day.”  
“But?”  
“Sometimes I don’t listen to my stomach.”  
“I’m sure there were parts of you that also wanted to rest of your dinner deal.”  
“Yes. My ego likes to spend time with Marcus. He looks absolutely great, women start to drool when he’s around and he wanted me not only as his dinner company. I am fully aware of that.”  
“What stopped you?”  
“The fact that I ended our relationship months ago. He was fun, he was good for my ego and I enjoy his company. He’s a funny guy, not stupid like you might think because he’s a model and makes his money – damn good money – with his looks.”  
Sara might not only think he was stupid, she was sure he was. And she didn’t give a damn about his money. A lot of money didn’t make your character good. It only made you waste a lot of money for things nobody really needed.   
“So why aren’t you with him? Sounds like there’s no real reason for you not to be with him.”  
“He was stopgap.”  
“A stopgap? I’m not sure if that’s what he thinks he is. Mister Perfect.”  
“A lot of women would leave their partner to have him, I know. He’s worth a sin. I’ve been with him long enough to know enough about him.”  
“And you left him?”  
“Yes.”  
“Why. Who can top a guy with a huge poster on Times Square?”  
“A brunette who is in a bad mood because she’s jealous.”  
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” Her stone got hot. So much for no idea.  
“Of course you do. I’m sorry that he was with us for lunch. I should have told him it’s our time. And I’m especially sorry for canceling our dinner for him. That wasn’t neither fair nor smart.”  
“He gave you good reasons.”  
“It had nothing to do with the steak or the cake. It was my stupidity. I wanted to see if you’re jealous, if you mind when I spend time with somebody else, if you care enough for me to be bothered. Very selfish, very childish. I realized that. I’m sorry it took me so long. Maybe it was a little bit an ego thing too. Like I had to show myself I can still have a model what means I can’t be such a bad deal.”  
“Who said you’re a bad deal?”  
“I.”  
“Stop lying to yourself Sofia.”  
“I wanted to be somebody’s number one. He gave me for a while the feeling I’m his number one. The most important person in the world. I miss being important to somebody. Being important just because of me and not for anything else. Not my job, my looks or whatever else. Only me as a person.”  
Sara turned in Sofia’s arms to face her. She made sure she stayed in the blonde’s arms, got her own arms around Sofia’s waist.   
“You are important. As a person. For me you are very important.”  
“That’s not the same.”  
“Not the same? I don’t think of smashing a coconut in somebody’s face because he spends the evening with you because you’re not very important. I want some credit for all these hate filled thoughts I had about this Latin lover because he was running with you, carried you, joked with you and flirted with you.” Sara grumbled. It felt good to say these words out loud.   
“You were jealous?” Sofia’s voice was somewhere between disbelieve, joy and doubt.   
“Maybe not jealous maybe just a little bit…okay….jealous.” Why lie when the truth was more than obvious?   
“One word and I had told him I can’t.”  
“It’s your decision with whom you want to spend your time.”  
“You told me it was okay.”  
“Of course I did. I didn’t want you to…miss out a chance.”  
“You think steak and care are more important than you?”  
“Plus a good looking and witty model, who was hitting on you and made you feel important and beautiful and whatever else.”  
“Smug?”  
“Yeah.” Sara bit her lips.   
“He does all that, that’s true.”  
“See…”  
“But that doesn’t matter.”  
“Why?”  
“Because.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms. “You matter more. You’re more important to me. If I have to choose between saving him or you caught in a current, it will be always you who I safe. You’re my highest priority, Sara. You not him. I don’t care about his poster, his looks and money. I care for you.” Sofia kissed Sara’s cheek softly. “And no matter if you don’t feel for me what I feel for you, you’ll always be more important. I had to live without you for three years I won’t let you run away again. Not without fighting for you to stay. And I’d fight dirty to make you stay just to let you know in case you want to leave.”  
“I don’t want to leave.”  
“Good.”  
“Sofia…I’m not sure what I feel for you. It’s something. But I don’t know what it is exactly yet. And I can’t promise you something. All I can tell is that you’re very important, that you matter to me and I…I’ve very strong feelings for you. But I need some time to figure out what kind of feelings I have and I don’t want you to be sad, to disappoint you, when it comes out they’re not what you want them to be.”  
“That’s all right.”  
“No, it keeps you in a nimbus.”  
“It doesn’t. It tells me I matter and I’m important. Even if you feel ‘only’ friendship for me it’s a lot. You don’t call people your friend easily. So if you don’t feel for me what I feel for you it will hurt a little bit but it would hurt more when you try to pretend something that isn’t true. I prefer to have your true friendship than a faked love interest.”  
“Thanks.” Sara closed her eyes and leant into Sofia. When did this all became so complicated? Less than thirty hours ago everything seemed to be all right. How could they go from ‘normal’ to ‘absolutely chaos’ within this short time period?   
Because the chaos had been there before but they were both too blind to see it, too busy to ignore it and tried everything to deny it. No wonder she had been confused about her feelings all the time. 

Wednesday

Only a few more steps and she was there. She could do it. Almost there. Closer, closer, closer and…”Arrived.” Sofia fell on her knees and tried to catch some air. The run around the main island was more difficult than she had believed. Her legs were sore from the run yesterday and Marcus didn’t allow her to cut back some speed.   
“I wonder what you did last night that you’re so tired today.” Marcus leant against the bar and sent an amused smile down to Sofia.   
“I slept.”  
“With whom?”  
“Alone! And even if I wasn’t alone it’s none of your business.”  
“Bitchy.”  
“Bite me!”  
“I’d love to sink my teeth in various areas of your body Sofia but we shouldn’t do that here at the bar. Maybe we need to get back to your island.”  
“In your dreams. I’ve a breakfast date.”  
“Do you expect me to sit next to you in the sand or will you sit with me here at the bar?” Sara asked smiling.   
“Hand please.”  
Sara offered Sofia her hand and pulled her up. “Better?”  
“Yes. He shooed me around the island, not bearing in mind that as a diving instructor I don’t run that much.”  
“We’ll change that. From now on we’ll have every morning a run. I get you fit and in a better shape.”  
“She’s in great shape.” Sara defended Sofia.   
“Thanks Sara. Rhys, can I have a huge coffee and some bagels? I need a real breakfast today. Peanut butter and jelly on the bagels.”  
“I need to shoo you around the island two times more if you eat that.”  
“No! I’m not a model I can eat and nobody cares when there’s a little bit of fat on my hips.”  
“Fat isn’t sexy. Don’t you want to be a sexy dive instructor?”  
“Don’t listen to him, Sofia, you’re sexy. A little bit of fat won’t change that. Besides you’re so skinny you can eat a dozen bagels with peanut butter and jelly today and still look skinny and sexy. Just because models panic when they hear fat it’s no reason not to enjoy your well earned breakfast. Plus you have to quit chocolate when you want to avoid fat.”  
Marcus gave Sara a look over. “Want to join us on our runs?”  
“Oh I’d love to run with you but unfortunately I’ve better things to do. I need to paint my nails or brush my hair. And book a flight to Vegas.”  
“What?” Sofia almost choked on her bagel. That had to be a joke. A flight to Vegas? Did she miss something. Why needed Sara to go back to Vegas? There was no reason for her to go there. Her future was here on Magical Beach, this was her new work place, her new home. Not Vegas. Not….Grissom!  
“I’ve some of my things still in Vegas and when I start working here I want them here. I’ll fly over to get them and take the chance to say hello to a few people.”  
“When?”  
“I thought about Monday and Tuesday.”  
“No!”   
“Why not?”  
“Because…okay, your decision.”  
“You want me here?”  
“It’s her birthday Beauty, you know that.” Rhys answered for Sofia. “You can’t leave her for her alone when it’s her birthday.”  
“She won’t be alone, I’m here and I’ll take good care of her.” Marcus grinned.  
“Sorry man I know you want her but my Golden Treasure wants Beauty around.”  
“According to all newspapers and magazines I’m beautiful. Very beautiful and handsome.”  
“Paper is very patient.” Sara mumbled what makes Rhys smile. “Do you want me to go to Vegas later, Sofia?”  
“If these days are convenient for you I’ll celebrate without you.”  
“They are. But your birthday is more important. I want to throw a cake in your face.”  
“Chocolate?”  
“Yes.”  
“Nice idea.” Sofia chuckled. “You can do that in Vegas too”  
“No I can’t when you’re here.”  
“Why don’t you ask me if me if I want to join you?”  
“Do you? I mean it’s only a trip for two days. I’d fly Sunday night and be back here on Tuesday.”  
“Fits perfectly in my two days off schedule.”  
“Okay if you want to spend your birthday in Vegas I’ll book a flight for you too.”  
“Thanks.”  
“You leave me alone?” Marcus asked not happily.  
“Sorry I can’t let her go shopping without me. And I should see my parents again.”  
“Why not later?”  
“Because after these two days off I won’t have two days off in a row for a long time. It’s the best chance. Sorry Marcus.”  
“Yeah, I’m sorry too.” He left his half full cup of tea and walked away.   
Rhys put the tea away, wiped the bar. “I think somebody is mad.”  
“Yes.” Sofia sighed.   
“Somebody’s ego is crying right now.” Sara bit on her lips not too laugh. Her point. “I wonder if you need to run tomorrow morning Sofia or if you can sleep in.”  
“He won’t miss a chance to change her mind.” Rhys got a little packet in front of Sofia.  
“Ohhhhh chocolate spread! Where did you get this from?”  
“Voodoo priest secret. Do you want it or has it too much fat?”  
“Screw the fat I want it!”   
“There’s no fat on your body.” Sara let her hand run over Sofia’s side. “Only muscles.”  
“There’s some fat but only a tiny little bit. And when you turn twenty-one you’re allowed to have some fat. Is it okay for you that I come with you to Vegas?”  
“Of course. I prefer to fly with you than alone.”  
“If you want I can ask my parents if they have a room for us.”  
“You can take the room I take a casino hotel room. Nothing against your family but that’s too much family for me.”  
“You’re probably right…my mom will try to change my mind about my job again and if she hears that you change from a real job to a teenager job too she’ll shoot us both. I want a casino hotel room too.”  
“Why don’t you share a room? You do that the whole time anyway.” Rhys grinned.  
“Not true. I slept alone last night. Like I said. Sara was in her bungalow and I was in mine. I don’t say I didn’t miss her but I was alone.”  
“I miss your hammock why don’t you invite me over for tonight?”  
“Maybe. Depends on how you behave this afternoon when we dive.”  
“Didn’t I always listen to my instructor?”  
“So far, yes. Talking about diving instructor. I need to get ready for work. Hopefully my model isn’t that mad anymore we’ll spend the next four hours together.”  
“He’ll try to boost his ego.”  
“A strong ego needs to be taken care of. I know that, mine isn’t different. Thanks for the breakfast Rhys. Sara, three o’clock at the dock of the other side of the island.”  
“I’ll be there and on time.”  
“Good. Don’t put a werewolf case on me.”  
“What? Are you serious?” Sara rolled her eyes. “That was years ago and I didn’t see…”  
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, safe us the excuses. Book our flights and hotel room and you’re forgiven. For today. Later cuties!”   
“Enjoy your day Golden Treasure.”  
“Bitch.” Sara grumbled. She never let Sofia wait on purpose. What did she have to do to make the blonde believe? And why did she remember this case after all those years?   
“Why do you smile like that, Rhys?”  
“Because you are jealous.”  
“What?”  
“You are jealous. You don’t like the fact that Marcus hits on our Golden Treasure.”  
“He doesn’t deserve her.”  
“Do you deserve her?”  
“I never said I want her.”  
“Do you want to see her with somebody else?”  
“I don’t want him for her. She deserves better.”  
“Does she deserve you?”  
“No.”  
“Not?”  
“No, she deserves better.”  
“What’s wrong with you?”  
“I…why are we talking about this thing? It doesn’t matter because Sofia and me are friends and I don’t want this Mister Universe for her because she needs somebody with a brain. He sees only her body, wants her because she looks good. And makes a tragedy out of a little bit of body fat. Do you want him for her?”  
“No.”  
“See. Are you jealous too? Do you want her?”  
“No I’m not the one she meant for.”  
“People aren’t meant for somebody else.”  
“You don’t believe there’s the perfect one for everybody?”  
“No. I think there are a few people who can make you happy. But with billions of people on this planet it seems like there’s only one. We change all the time why stay with the same person when you find out it doesn’t fit anymore? Maybe there is somebody who makes you happy for twenty years but after that you meet somebody else who makes you happy. The new one wasn’t the right person the first twenty years but is it now.”  
“You don’t want to get married with somebody for the rest of your life?”  
“I want to spend my life with somebody as long as it makes us both happy. Maybe it’s only for a year, for thirty or even the rest of my life. What is important is that both are happy the way it is.”  
“The way it looks to me you make Sofia happy.”  
“That’s…what she says.” Sara swallowed. It was easier to talk about love and relationships in general. When it became personal it was something else.   
“You don’t look too sad yourself when she’s with you.”  
“I like…her. She’s very important to me and…shit.” Sara buried her face in her hands.   
“Sara.” Rhys was next to her and pulled her in his arms. Immediately there was a lot of heat in her body and she felt… held. “It’s all right.”  
“She confuses me. I confuse myself. Rhys, I…I don’t know what’s right or wrong.”  
“What makes you happy is right.”  
“And if it’s not supposed to make me feel happy?”  
“Then you live in a world of beliefs that are not yours. What-ever makes you happy whatever feels right for you is right for you. It doesn’t matter what makes somebody else happy or is right for somebody else. It’s your life so the only one who matters are you.”  
“I don’t know anything anymore.”  
“Come on.” Rhys got his arm around her waist. “We take a little walk.”  
“Don’t you have to work?”  
“I’m sure my boss will appreciate it when I take a break. Lets have a little walk.” He pulled her with him away from the bar and towards the beach. Time to give Sara the chance to calm down again. 

“Where’s your friend, Sofia?”  
“I don’t know.” Sofia checked her watch again. Almost three. Sara should be here by now. Sofia checked her diving gear again.   
“If she won’t be on time we’ll go without her.” The expert said.   
“I’m sure she will be…there she is.”   
Sara jumped down the little stone stairs. She wore her wet suit, had her fins and mask under her arms. “Sorry, am I late?”  
“Just in time.” Sofia handed her the diving gear.   
“Thanks.”  
“Okay so we can start. Andrew and Mister Flinders are one team, Sara and me the second. The two of you lead, we follow. Sara?”  
“I’ll stay by your side, no solo tour, pay attention to your sign and won’t argue when you tell me something.”  
“Good.” Sofia squeezed Sara’s hand for a short moment. “I’ll keep an eye on you.”  
“And I keep one on you.”

Thursday

The sun stroke softly over Sara’s skin and made her smile. This was a lovely way to start in a new day. With the sunrise on the beach, a hot coffee in her hand and no plans for the day. She was able to do whatever came up her mind. If she felt like snorkeling she could do that. Or finish her book. Or treat herself with a horseback riding trip. A canter on the beach, a walk through the water or a trot in the forest.   
Before hands closed her eyes she could smell a familiar perfume. Then her world was dark.   
“Let me guess…you’re a hot blooded Latin lover.”  
“No.”  
“A mysterious voodoo priest?”  
“No.”  
“The call boy I ordered?”  
“You don’t order call boys.”  
“Not boys, a call man. Over six foot tall, full of muscles and with an equipment that makes my day and night. A few times.”  
“I didn’t know you’re a…that desperate.” Sofia sat behind Sara and kept her in her arms so that Sara could lean into her.  
“Absolutely. A desperate island queen.”  
“There’s a Latin lover on the island, maybe he can help you out.”  
“No, he’s into blonde. I saw him busy flirting with two blondes yesterday and I’m sure he tried everything to get into your pants last night when he was over at your place.”  
“Jealous?”  
“No.”  
“Why did you watch him?”  
“I didn’t. I came along your island and saw his boat there.”  
“You came along…don’t tell me you were swimming again.”  
“No, I was on a boat.”  
“Explain that.”  
“I had a date.”  
“What?”  
“Yes you’re not the only one who has dates.”  
“Whom did you date?”  
“Not your business.”  
“As your future bungalow mate I have to know. I can’t give you a key when you date shady guys.”  
“I date only very respectable guys.”  
“Will I find this respectable guy in your bungalow?”  
“No. I’m not that kind of woman.”  
“Good….hey, what’s that?”   
“What?”  
“You’ve got a tattoo on your neck.”  
“Oh that.”  
“That wasn’t there before.”  
“No, I got it yesterday.”  
“You dated a tattoo artist?”  
“No, my date got me to one.”  
“It looks…interesting.”  
“A voodoo sign for love and trust.”  
“Since when are you interested in voodoo?”  
“Since I had my date.”  
“I’m a little bit surprised. You get a tattoo on your first date.”  
“It’s not a real tattoo. All natural colors and apparently it tastes good. Even if I can’t imagine it. It’s a tattoo.”  
“A tattoo with a taste? Impressive. Let me test it.” Before Sara could say a word Sofia’s lips were on the tattoo. Softly she let her lips run over it and kissed it lightly.   
“What…are…you…doing…?” Sara had problems not to shiver too much. Sofia’s lips made her whole body be covered in goose bumps. And her breath wasn’t even anymore.   
“I taste…sweet grapefruit. Amazing. It’s a black color I had expected something.”  
“Like chocolate?”  
“Believe me Honey, if this tattoo tastes like chocolate I’d lick it off your skin right now. Who made you this?”  
“I can’t remember his name.”  
“Don’t tell me you forgot the name of your date.”  
“It wasn’t my date, it was a his friend.”  
“And you dated whom?”  
“Why does that matter? You were busy with Mister Universe.”  
“I sent him home at ten because I wanted to go to bed.”  
“Alone?”  
“Yes.”  
“When we came along his boat was still there, it was well after midnight and we heard something that didn’t sound like sleep. Not the kind of sleep you have when you’re tired. More the kind of sleep you have when you get tired out.”  
“What?”  
“Somebody had sex on the beach and I’m not talking about a cocktail to drink.”  
“He took a woman to my island?”  
“If he wasn’t banging you yes.”  
“That was why he cancelled our run for today. Said it doesn’t satisfy him.”  
“He got some satisfaction.”   
“He’ll get something else when I see him in an hour. It’s one thing when he comes over after I invited him it’s something different when he takes a bimbo over to bang her.”  
“Your own fault and I’m sure you were his first choice.”  
“I’ll be his nightmare.”  
“Be glad he didn’t invite you to join them…or that he didn’t invite himself in your bed for a second round.”  
“He tries that and he won’t be interesting for the rest of the women for a long, long time.”  
“You’ve strange friends.”  
“Tell me about it. A model ex who thinks he owns my place, a voodoo priest who knows me better than I do and a brunette with a tattoo that tastes like pineapple.”  
“The brunette booked a flight and room for you.”  
“I get my own room?”  
“You’re not happy about that?”  
“No.”  
“Shall I change it into a twin room?”  
“Double room?”  
“Why would I do that?”  
“Because it will be my birthday and I want to fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up the same way…even if you maybe didn’t want to hear that I said it out loud because I don’t want to pretend anything anymore. Last night I made the decision I want you and I’ll try everything to get you…until you tell me to stop it or to fuck off.”  
“You think you’ll get lucky and laid when we share a bed?”  
“I think I’ve a bigger chance to be close to you when we share a bed.”  
“You can try to sneak into my bed when I’m asleep.”  
“No, that’s not fair. I play fair, Sara.”  
“Good.” Sara her upper body so that she could see Sofia. “We take the boat at six on Sunday evening, the flight to Vegas is at ten and the return flight is Tuesday evening at seven. Don’t make too many appointments for Wednesday morning in case we’ll party a lot in Vegas and you don’t get enough sleep.  
And tell your Latin lover he isn’t invited. If he thinks he can invite himself I’ll shoot him.”  
“You really don’t like him.”  
“No. You deserve better.”  
“I don’t want him.”  
“Good. Want a breakfast with me?”  
“Absolutely. I need energy for the day.”  
“Why? Got special guests with special treatments?”  
“Yes. First I’ll have Mister Universe and after that I’ll satisfy myself with two guys for the rest of the afternoon. Like every blonde I need a lot of men to be happy.”  
“There was a job description: wanted six men for a tough job – or one woman.”  
“Is that an offer?”  
“No.”  
“What a shame. I like the pineapple taste.” Sofia kissed the tattoo again. “Really good.”  
“Get a tattoo yourself.”  
“I’ll ask. What taste would you prefer?”  
“I don’t want to eat your tattoo.”  
“Okay. What smell do you like?”  
“What? Why?”  
“Tell me. Maybe I can get a room perfume so you like our bungalow even more.”  
“Open the window and we have the smell of the ocean. That’s perfect.”  
“You are so not romantic. Oh well, time for breakfast before all tourists are at the bar and get the good stuff.”  
“I am a tourist until next Thursday.”  
“You’re special.” Sofia got up and pulled Sara on her legs. “Very special.”  
“I’m hungry.”   
“And I want another taste of this pineapple.”  
“Get lost!” Sara pushed Sofia away and started to run to the bar. Sofia ended on her butt, got up and chased after Sara. This way she got a little morning run. 

“Can I lure you away from the good looking guy and his cocktails?” Sofia asked Sara.   
“Depends on what you offer.”  
“Dinner at my place.”  
“He offers dinner too and I don’t even have to pack.”  
“I don’t mind when you sleep in my bed in your birthday suit.”  
“Golden Treasure, get yourself out of the gutter.” Rhys laughed.   
“Why? She knows about my feelings there’s no reason to hide them anymore. I changed my tactic and try it straight forward now. By the way the tattoo you got her is really delicious.”  
“You tried it?”  
“Yes. She couldn’t run away so I took the chance. Can I have one too?”  
“Which taste do you want?”  
“If I can reach it chocolate.”  
“When you get a chocolate flavored tattoo that’s within reach of your mouth it won’t be there for long. You need it in your neck too.”  
“Can I scrape the taste off?”  
“You won’t get one at all.”  
“Do I get you?” Sofia looked at Sara.   
“For dinner or as your dinner?”  
“Both would be perfect but I’m also happy with only one of them.”  
“I get my stuff.”   
“Yeah! Victory.” Sofia popped Rhys’ shoulder. “Sorry man, you lost.”  
“Mhm be nice to her and let her sleep. We had a long night.”  
“So she told me. With some extra entertainment from Marcus. He wasn’t happy when I told him I don’t want him on my island anymore.”  
“He was there without your permission?”  
“Yes. Thought it’s a good place to impress a young woman and make it obvious to me that he doesn’t need me. She had the fun I could have had.”  
“You don’t want him to have fun.”  
“Somehow it’s difficult for him to understand. I wonder if I’m the first woman who ended the relationship with him. If it’s usually him who ends it.”  
“That’s my guess. He doesn’t really talk to me because he knows we’re friends but for a man like him you hurt his ego more than he can handle. The only way to get back on track and feel like a real man again is to make it obvious to you that he’s your loss and you have to feel sorry that you don’t want him anymore.”  
“It’s over since one year, I thought he’s over it by now.”  
“The ego of a man needs a lot of more time – if it’ ever recovered from something like that.”  
“Sometimes I’m glad I’m a smug woman and not a smug man.”  
“You’re a very sensitive woman.”  
“I’m a cool diving instructor and a former tough cop.”  
“You’re my Golden Treasure. Come here, Baby.” He pulled Sofia in his arms, lifted her up and placed her on his hips. “I love you, you know that?”  
“Yes. Like I love you.”  
“Good. If this monkey on a poster gives you a hard time let me know. We let the voodoo handle him.”  
“Okay. Thanks.” Sofia kissed Rhys. “I hope that won’t be necessary. He isn’t a bad person only a little bit offended.”  
“He can suffer like a man and not pout like a baby.”  
“I might tell him that later.”  
“No need to rush that. There’s your lovely brunette, ready to go with you to your island. Enjoy your evening with her.”  
“I will. We can make some plans for Vegas.”  
“Don’t you dare to come back married. I want to be with you when you marry her.”  
“I think you’re talking about a fantasy future, Rhys. A nice one but nevertheless a fantasy future. See you tomorrow.”  
“Bye.” He let her back down. “Have fun, Beauty.”  
“Thanks Rhys. You too, don’t flirt too much with all the women at the bar.”  
“Me? Never.”  
Sara grinned. He did nothing else. In a very charming way so that nobody was annoyed. Rhys was not only the perfect bar-tender he was also the perfect gentleman. 

“Tell me where I’ll live when I move to you.” Sara sipped on her juice, feet buried in sand. They made the decision to sit in the warm sand at the water instead of the hammock.   
“The plan is to extend my bungalow. There’ll be a new door on the north side of the living room that will connects the living room with your bedroom. The bedroom will be five by four with a connected bathroom that will be three by four. A window in there, two in the bedroom. I talked with my boss about it he organized the builder and they’ll start next Sunday. Means when we go to Vegas they will work and hopefully when we come back everything is ready to use and I’ve a bigger bungalow.”  
“Thirty two square yards, more than I had during university. Will I have internet in my room?”  
“Yes. You won’t be a guest anymore, you will have your cell phone, your computer, internet and everything else you need.”  
“I need a spa.”  
“That will cost you.”  
“How much rent do I have to pay, landlady?”  
“You pay your own power and water and give me a hundred.”  
“Per week?”  
“A month.”  
“That’s cheap. I bet that’s not compared to the price you have to pay for the extension.”  
“I don’t want to make money with you, Sara. From the hundred dollar I’ll pay the water and power we need for the kitchen and living room.”  
“That’s cheaper than the shared house.”  
“The downside is you need to share with me.”  
“I can’t see a downside to that.” Sara smiled. “And neither do you. What happened to the energy you had two hours ago? Or this morning. You sounded different then.”  
“My shyness came back and asked me if I’m sure that I do the right thing and if it wouldn’t be smarter to slow it down and wait until you do something. I don’t want to scare you away and do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.”  
“For a smug person you’re very sensitive and unsure of your-self.”  
“Sometimes.”  
“I like that.” Sara took Sofia’s hand. “I’ll tell you when you overdo it.”  
“But then it’s too late.”  
“I’ll tell you before it’s too late.”  
“Promise?”  
“Promise.”  
“Okay.” Sofia let her finger run over Sara’s new tattoo. “For how long will you have it?”  
“If I can manage to keep you away from it a week. Otherwise it will be gone faster.”  
“Is it waterproof?”  
“More or less. It’s more the towel that’s a danger to it. When I rub over it, it will vanish with the upper skin layer.”  
“Why did you choose a temporally tattoo? You’ve a real one on your ankle.”  
“Because it was part of the ceremony.”  
“What exactly did you do?”  
“Don’t ask me. Rhys asked me if I want to join him for a voodoo ceremony. I wasn’t sure because apparently they kill animals sometimes but he promised all they do is sing, dance, paint tattoos and pray. Under this circumstances it sounded interesting so I came with him and watched. No animal got killed, no voodoo doll burnt or stabbed with needles, it was like a church celebration on the beach. I liked it. And a lot of interesting people. The old man who paint my tattoo didn’t speak English, Rhys translated what he said to me. According to him I’m a lost soul who needs to be found and taken home. But I’m also a fighter for the good and a kind hearted woman. He was sad to tell me that I won’t have children and I told him that’s fine.”  
“He’s right with the kind heart woman and the fighter. I don’t know about your soul and if you will have children but I can’t argue with him. I need to see him too, maybe he can tell me a few interesting things about me.”  
“You’re a smug arrogant woman who uses these attributes to hide her sensitive and insecure sides.”  
“I doubt he’ll call me smug and arrogant.”  
“If he’s honest he will.”  
“You’re the only one who says mean things like that.”  
“I’m the only one who’s honest.”  
“You’re the only bitch around.”  
“And you like me.”  
“Yes.” Sofia sighed. “You can use that.”  
“I could but I won’t. I like you too much to use your feelings against you. And I changed our booking for the hotel. We’ll share a room.”  
“Sounds good. I like to listen to your snore.”  
Sara’s eyes got small. “I don’t snore!”   
“Did you record yourself already?”  
“No.”  
“Well in that case you don’t have any evidence that I lie. You snore. A little bit. Not loud and very cute.”  
“I bet you heard yourself snoring.”  
“No, I was wide awake.”  
“Funny.” Sara pulled Sofia in her arms. “Stop mocking me.”  
“Make me stop.”  
“I could.” Sara kissed Sofia’s cheek. “Tell me what you want for your birthday? Any wishes?”  
“Breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight drink with you.”  
“I thought you want to visit your family.”  
“Yes.”  
“Don’t tell me you want me to join you.”  
“You asked what I wish for, that’s my wish. I want to spend my time with you.”  
“Your family has to agree.”  
“They will. Will you?”  
“Yes. Whatever makes you happy.”  
“You. You around me, seeing you happy. That reminds me, do you want to go diving again?”  
“Sure.”  
“If we get up early tomorrow we can dive around the wreck. They secured it with ropes and poles and it’s safe now. Want to have a look for some gold?”  
“With a golden treasure next to me? Of course. When shall we start?”  
“I need to work from ten, so when we want some time for the wreck we should be there at eight.”  
“Breakfast at seven?”  
“Okay.”  
“Means it’s time to go to bed now. We were both up very early and the last night was short.”  
“I had some sleep but like you said, we were awake early. Come on Beauty, I take you in my bed.”  
“Next week I have my own bed here.”  
“Yes. If you want we can get your things over on Sunday. Maybe you get some money back when you give your bungalow up early.”  
“I can talk to our boss. Thanks. I need to go furniture shopping too.”  
“In Vegas?”  
“No, I’ll do that in Los Angeles. Can I get your boat to get everything over?”  
“If you want my boat you want me too because you need me to drive it.”  
“Yes.”  
“We can do that when I’ve the next day off.”  
“Perfect, thanks. I’ll shop online and let them deliver every-thing to the harbor where we can pick it up.”  
“Until then there’s always a place for you in my bed.”  
“I’m sure there’s a place for me even after that.” Sara blinked at Sofia and pulled her up. Arm in arm they walked back to Sofia’s bungalow – soon their bungalow. 

When Sara woke up was it still dark. A look on Sofia’s watch next to the bed told her it was two in the morning. Some more time to sleep. The blonde had rolled herself up on the other side of the bed, held on to her pillow. A little smile was on her face, she seemed to dream of something nice.   
Sara smiled. That was crazy, she was in Sofia’s bed and right now there was no other place she wanted to be. Absolutely crazy. When did it happen that she enjoyed Sofia and her company so much? Since when preferred she to have Sofia around instead of sleeping alone? Why Sofia? What had changed that she liked her so much? That she had problems to imagine a life without Sofia. Hell, even a week or a short trip to Vegas. When the blonde asked her if she could join her she had problems to hide her joy.   
So yes, she liked Sofia. More than she wanted to admit to herself. Why was it a problem to admit that she liked her? She never had a problem to admit that she liked Grissom. She knew it right from the first moment she had seen him that he was somebody special that she wanted to be with him. It took them seven years until they became a couple. What did her tell that about her and Sofia? When she met the blonde the first time she couldn’t stand her. For Sara it looked like Sofia tried to get Grissom. Jealous Sara tried everything to make Sofia’s life hard. When she and Grissom became a couple it got better but she still wasn’t a big fan of the now detective.   
Why now? Why…a woman? Why Sofia? Why…To hell did it matters? It shouldn’t.   
Sara moved closer to Sofia and pulled her in her arms.   
“Sara.” Sofia mumbled.   
“I’m here, go back to sleep.” Sara kissed Sofia’s hair and stroke softly over her cheek.   
Still smiling Sofia snuggled closer into Sara’s arms and went back to sleep.   
No it didn’t matter that Sofia was a woman. What matter was that she was Sofia, somebody who cared for Sara and did everything to make her happy. That should matter and nothing else. 

Monday

“Happy birthday.” Sara pulled Sofia in her arms.   
“Oh? Already?” The blonde looked at her watch. They arrived in their room a few minutes ago. While Sofia was secretly over the moon that there was only one bed in the room had Sara organized a bottle of champagne and two glasses.   
“Yes. I wish you all the best for your twenty-first.”  
“Thanks.” Sofia snuggled into Sara’s arms. “I’m glad I can celebrate my birthday here with you.”  
“Want some champagne?”  
“Do I have a wish?”  
“Sure, it’s your birthday.”  
“I’d like to have a kiss before I get champagne.”  
“Okay.” Sara laughed and kissed Sofia gently on the cheek. “You get another one if you want. After all you’ve got two cheeks.”  
“Exactly.” Sofia turned her head to offer Sara her other cheek. After she had her second kiss she took the glass of champagne. With it in one hand and Sara in her other arm she looked out of the window. They were in a casino in the middle of The Strip with a window facing the Eiffel Tower and overlooking the water fountain of the Bellagio.   
“I think we can see now more people than in a whole week on Magical Beach.” Sara realized she didn’t miss crowded places. She was happy that their shuttle bus from the airport got them straight to the hotel. They passed the crowded Strip, tried to ignore the gambling people in the casino and hurried into their room.   
“Two days, Beauty. After that you’ve a new home and there’s only one person around.”  
“A smug Golden Treasure.”  
“Talking about treasures, I’ve to tell you about the newest story Rhys told me. About gold and our wreck and pirates.”  
“A voodoo priest, a bartender and a story teller. Your friend is a very talented man.”  
“Our friend. I save the story for later, mom and dad will enjoy it too.”  
“I doubt your mom will be interested in stories about pirates and gold.”  
“She has to live with them. In exchange we’ll get a few police stories.”  
“We’ll get CSI stories when we visit our old colleagues.”  
“Did you call them?”  
“I called Greg, we’ll meet them for breakfast.”  
“Did he miss you?”  
“Yes.”  
“Does he want you to stay in Vegas?”  
“Yes.”  
“I’ve to make sure you come back with me. Greg will try everything to make you stay. I’d do the same.”  
“There’s a life on an island waiting for me. Do you believe I’ll exchange that for a crowded city, thousands of criminals and overtime?”  
“Maybe.”  
Sara pulled Sofia closer and kissed her forehead. “Still?”  
“There are some doubts left.”  
Two more kisses on each cheek.   
“Now?”  
“Almost convinced.”  
“Okay.” Sara smirked pulled Sofia closer and kissed her softly on her lips. “Now?”  
“I think I just got the best birthday present.”  
“Your ears are deep red.”  
“And my heart beats like a crazy, my knees feel like jelly and I think I’ll faint. Can you carry me to the bed?”  
“You’re nuts.” Sara laughed, took Sofia’s empty glass and refilled it. “This will help your circulation.”  
“Another kiss would be better.”  
“No, it was the kiss that made you shaky. No more kisses.”  
“My heart.” Sofia grabbed her heart and got down on her knees. “There must be a huge knife in my heart the way it hurts. I think I’ll die.”  
“You’re in the wrong city for acting, Sofia. This is Las Vegas not Los Angeles.”  
“Vegas the place for a wedding. Want to go to a chapel with me?”  
“No I want to go to bed with you.”  
“I feel much better. I think I might survive.”  
“You might survive?”  
“Yes…probably I need another kiss.”  
“I’ve got something better.” Sara opened her suitcase and turned her back so that Sofia didn’t see what she was doing.  
“What can be better than a kiss from you?”  
“This!” Sara turned and Sofia’s world turned dark…and muddy…and sweet.   
“What the…chocolate cake!” Sofia let a finger run over her face and tasted the cake that stuck to it. “Yummy.”  
“You look very sweet.” Out of the blue Sara had her cell phone in her hands and took a photo of Sofia. “Very sweet.”  
“You threw a cake in my face.”  
“Yes.” Sara grinned.   
“You planed that.”  
“Yes.”  
“You enjoyed that.”  
“Yes.”  
“Bitch!” Sofia jumped in Sara’s arms and rubbed her face on the brunettes.   
“Yuck!”  
“Not yuck, a second ago you called it sweet. Am I allowed to say you look delicious.”  
“I’ve got half of your cake in my face.”  
“Yes.” Sofia got her mouth on Sara’s cheek. “It tastes from you even better.”  
“It was your cake.”  
“With you I even share my cake.”  
“I didn’t ask for that.”  
“Your very thoughtful friend shared with you anyway. Wanna lick the cake off me?”  
“No.”  
“Want me to lick the cake off you?”  
“No.”  
“Spoilsport.”  
“Yes. I take a shower.”  
“No! The good cake!” Sofia grabbed Sara’s hand to stop her. “My good birthday cake.” She let her finger run over Sara’s face and ate the cake. “So delicious.”  
“It was supposed to be your cake, for your face.”  
“I like it more from your face.” Fast Sofia pulled Sara close and got a mouthful of cake from the brunette’s right cheek. “Yum. Better than the rest of your tattoo.”  
“Will you stop eating off me?”  
“No. Come on, try it.” Sofia offered Sara her cheek. “Don’t be shy.”   
“You’re annoying.”  
“I’m yours.”  
Sara rolled her eyes and got some cake off Sofia’s cheek with her lips. The cake was really good. She chose a mud cake and it was very muddy. It was worth its money. Plus it made Sofia happy so it was priceless. 

Sofia’s left eye popped open. It was her birthday. Still. And she was in Vegas. With Sara. With Sara in her arms. The perfect start for her birthday. They’d have breakfast now, stroll over the Strip, have a look at Sara’s things and after that it was time to visit Sofia’s family.   
“How did you sleep?”  
“Wonderful. Like always when I’m in your arms.” She turned to look into Sara’s eyes. A soft brown like an old whiskey. There was nothing Sofa wanted to look at more than those eyes.   
“And I thought you slept especially good because of the cake.”  
“That was a great topping. But you were the mean course.”  
“In your dreams.”  
“Believe me in my dreams you have nothing else on than cake.”  
“Do you need another cold shower?”  
“Only with you.”  
“Forget it. You need to look for somebody else if you want a birthday shower game.”  
“What a pity. They’re fun.”  
“You had them already?”  
“Yes. When I turned the first time twenty-one.” Sofia laughed. “That was a very special day too. Different to the one last night but also nice. I had a huge party with a lot of friends. I celebrated into my birthday and ten minutes before midnight my boyfriend got me away from our friends, up to the rooftop balcony and gave me his present there. An amazing orgasm exactly at midnight. I never came better in a birthday.”  
“Sounds more satisfying than this one started.”  
“You can’t compare them. They are two different pairs of shoes. I had everything I wished for last night. Cake, champagne and you. And because you let me think the whole time we have two beds this king size bed was a really nice surprise too.”  
“You told me you want to fall asleep and wake up in my arms.”  
“Yes. Thanks for that present.” Sofia kissed Sara’s cheek. “And thanks for being here with me, for having me close and…”  
“Sofia, shut up!”   
“Sorry I babble when I get nervous and you can make me very nervous.”  
“Being nervous doesn’t suit a smug woman.”  
“I was a cop I should be cool all the time, my mom will get a heart attack when she realizes that I’m not able to hold it together. A former CSI makes me lose my mind – and I like it.”  
“Your former CSI will take a shower now. We’ve a nice program for today, birthday girl.”  
“Five more minutes please.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms. “There is no need to hurry. We can skip lunch, go after breakfast straight to your things and then to my parents. Please, no hurry. There’s no work and no ocean today that call us out of bed, we can enjoy a few more minutes. Outside there are thousands of people waiting, there’s traffic jam, smog, heat and no water for a refreshing swim. Let’s stay here a little bit longer, savor the silence and the fact that we don’t see and hear anybody else than us.”  
Sara smiled and kissed Sofia’s cheek. “It’s your birthday you make the plans and the rules.”  
“As less people and stress as possible. We can order breakfast to our room that gives us the chance to start the day more relaxed.”  
“Aren’t you supposed to have a loud and crowded party day when you turn twenty-one?”  
“Did you have that?”  
“No, I worked.”  
“Why am I not surprised? I had my party for turning twenty-one the last time, this time I want a cozy birthday and only the people around me who are very important for me. My parents and you. Everybody else can wait. It would be nice to have Rhys here but somebody has to make sure our new home will be ready to move in tomorrow.”  
“For that he has to order some furniture.”  
“Yes, everything but your bed. The longer you need to get it the longer you can sleep in my bed and I’ve you closer. Maybe I need to bribe the guys who send your bed.”  
“You’re crazy.”  
“Crazy for you, I know. Lucky me there is no medicine to cure that.”  
“Order our breakfast, Honey.” Sara kissed Sofia’s forehead. “I’ll have a little swim in the bathroom – alone – before I want breakfast – with you.”  
“With me or you want me for breakfast?”  
“With you.”  
“I tried.” Sofia sighed and let Sara go. At least she could have some more quiet time with Sara when they had breakfast in their room. 

“Survived!” Sofia dropped backwards on the bed. They survived the afternoon and evening with her parents. There had been a few critical moments when Sofia and her mom were close to start a fight but Sofia’s father managed to get his two strong minded women apart and kept the peace.   
“They were happy to see you.” Sara took off her shoes and sat on the chair.   
“Yes. You know what my dad promised me before we left?”  
“What?”  
“He’ll talk mom into coming to Magical Beach over Christmas. For at least a week. No matter which reasons she’ll find to stay away he’ll get her there. So great. I’m sure he’s after a week or two of staying on the beach, sipping cocktails and fishing.”  
“I had the impression your mom makes the plans.”  
“She does most times. Sometimes my dad stands up and gets what he wants. Mom has not really something to put against it when he says most times they do what she wants and he only asks for favor when it really matters to him. Plus her daughter should matter to her too. I’m sure he’ll get them over.”  
“Hopefully. They were fun to be; when your mom didn’t talk about CSI work like it was kindergarten.” Sara was surprised about the easy going atmosphere. No cop or crime stories, only a few times when Sofia’s mother complained about the new life of her daughter and no hard time for Sara because she changed from law enforcement to beach life too.   
“My parents like you. Dad thinks you’re good for me and mom is sure you’ll keep me closer to the real world than a surfer boy would do.”  
“She told me a diving instructor isn’t what she wanted and she hopes I get you back to the law enforcement – even if it’s only as a CSI. Why do cops think a CSI less worth than a cop?”  
“Because we’ve the better guns.”  
“You had. And it doesn’t matter how good your gun is, it mattes how good you are with a gun.”  
“Better than you are.”  
“Is that a bet?”  
“Yes. But I suggest we fight with something else than a gun: bow and arrow.”  
“I’ve never tried them.”  
“Me neither. I’m sure Rhys knows somebody who can teach us. Would you enjoy that?”  
“Do we have to make a competition out of it or can we just do it for fun?”  
“It can be a fun thing.”  
“Good then I like the idea.”  
“Make a note in your little book. I take a little trip to the bathroom.”  
“Stay in the non-swimming area.”  
“No need to. If I need some help I call you. Don’t miss me too much.” Sofia got up.  
“I know where to find you in case I miss you.” Sara opened the wardrobe. Time to change into her sleep shirt. The last night in Vegas for a long time. She wasn’t sure if she was happy or sad that their flight was tomorrow night. It felt good to be back… home. Vegas still felt like home to her. It was good to feel, see and taste the city again. On the other hand it reminded her of all the crimes, blood and bodies she had seen here during her time as a CSI. All the pain, the destroyed families and her own …problems. She had thought a lot about the night in the desert and Nathalie. It was better for her when she stayed away and started somewhere else new.   
“You’ll start the smoke detector if you don’t stop thinking.” Sofia got Sara out of her thoughts.   
“Won’t happen. I’ll cool my head down in the bathroom.”  
“Call me if you need some help in the shower.”  
“Later baby.”  
Sofia sighed and changed into her sleep outfit. Why was she always turned down?   
Okay she couldn’t complain. Until last night she thought she had to stay in her own bed, in reality she shared a bed with Sara. They had breakfast in bed, got two big suitcases with Sara’s old stuff in their room, arranged a transport for some furniture to Los Angeles and spent the rest of the day with Sofia’s parents. They got along good and all had a really good time. And when they come over for Christmas they could repeat this day.   
“Bed time.” Sara turned off the light and slipped next to Sofia.   
“Yes. That was a nice birthday.”  
“There’s one hour left.”  
“True.”  
“And I haven’t given you your present.”  
“You paid the room, I thought that’s my present.”  
“No.”  
“And I got a kiss with the room and the king size bed. Wasn’t that enough?”  
“No.”  
“Not? What else?”  
“I thought I give you something you can’t buy with money.”  
“Another kiss?”  
“Depends.”  
“On what?”  
“You’ve got fifty-nine minutes of your birthday left and for these fifty-nine you’ll be in total control. That means I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”  
“Are you kidding me?” Sofia stared blank at Sara. This had to be a joke.   
“No. I’m yours.”  
“Sara…that’s not funny.”  
“Because it’ not a joke. So what would you like me to do?”  
“I…okay…I want to be in your arms.”   
“Your wish is my command.” Sara pulled Sofia in her arms. “Any other wishes?”  
“Sara, you’re playing a very dangerous game. At least if you’re serious with that my wishes are your command.”  
“I am serious, Sofia. It’s my present to you.”  
“You know what I can do with it.”  
“I’m aware of that.”  
“You do it anyway?”  
“Yes.”  
Sofia turned and kissed Sara shortly. “Thanks. Sleep tight, Honey.” The blonde snuggled deep into Sara’s arms.   
“I beg your pardon?”  
“Sleep tight.”  
“Sofia…”  
“Sara I appreciate your offer, I really do and there are a lot of things I can think of I’d like you to do and I’d like to do to you but you offered me this present because you trust me and for me it’s more important to show you that you can trust me than having the chance to make you do everything I want. I know you’re happy with me in your arms, so am I. What I want is that we’re both happy with what we do.”  
“You’re amazing.”  
“Thanks. Are you fine with my decision?”  
“Yes. And if you change your mind the present is available until midnight.”  
“I won’t change my mind.” Sofia turned so she faced Sara. “I made my decision because I believe in it. Sleep tight, we need to be up early to meet the guys.”  
“Yes. They want to see us at half past seven.”  
“That’s like a blink away.” Sofia closed her eyes. A short night for a holiday night.   
“It’s a dream away. Good night Sofia.” Sara bent forward and kissed Sofia softly on her lips. “I’m glad I can take you with me tomorrow and don’t have to say goodbye to you and leave you here.”  
“Me too….I think my head is deep red again.”  
“Suits you.”  
“You suit me.”  
Sara laughed quietly. She should have know that Sofia wouldn’t ask for anything else than being in Sara’s arms. No matter how tempting the offer was, it was more important to Sofia that Sara felt comfortable. This was the best proof that she could trust the blonde endlessly. It was like she got a present too even if it wasn’t her birthday.   
“And when it’s your birthday I’ll throw a cake in your face.” Sofia mumbled, kissed Sara’s throat and fell asleep. 

Friday

Coming home from work had been always a kind of coming back into another world. A world that was made to rest, drop into bed, sleep, get up, shower, eat, go back to reality. The difference between Sara’s former work life and her private had been that she lived during her work and only existed during her time off. Maybe that had been a reason why she tried to work more than it was good for her. There hadn’t been anything to do for her after work. When she and Grissom were a couple it was different. Kind of. They both were workaholics but when they were off and together there was a reason for Sara to be at home. There was something to look forward to. Private time wasn’t time to read another forensic magazine or catch up with the newest crime posts on the internet, suddenly it was time for herself, time for somebody she loved.   
Now she had been back in the world of working people for a week and every day she came home she felt good, relaxed and spent time with other people. Of course her workaholic nature came through and of course she had accumulate a little bit of overtime already but it was fun. She and Willy spent the whole day on the island, on the water or in the water. She had learnt a lot about the nature here, where they had problems because of the tourists and what they could do to make it possible that nature and people lived together in harmony.   
“You made yourself very unpopular!” Sofia knocked on Sara’s door.   
“Huh?” She didn’t bother to lift her head. It felt so good after the shower, dressed with nothing more than a towel, to drop on her bed and close her eyes.   
“The designated diving areas.”  
“Oh.” Yes she and Willy had asked for designated dive area around the island. Their goal was to have parts of the coral free of humans. A place animals could go to and have a break of diver looking at them.   
“Yes. Oh. Did you forget you share your house with a diving instructor?”  
“No. I thought my landlady understands that animals need a place without humans annoying them and that if we don’t save the environment there won’t be much to look at for diver in a few years.”  
“I knew you’d come along with something like that.”  
“Because I’m right.”  
“You’re a lot of things, not dressed is one of them. If you’re right that’s in the eye of the beholder.”  
“Wearing nothing else than a towel was my tactic. I knew you’d be pissed so I thought I wear my towel, show you my long legs and get your thoughts away from the ocean to something that you enjoy more.”  
“You’re playing with your sex appeal.”  
“If I have one then I’m doing that right now. Yes. Guilty.”  
“And proud of it.”  
“A little bit.” Sara grabbed Sofia’s hand and pulled her next to her. “So how much time will we spend with a fight?”  
“Why? Do you have any other plans for tonight? Some dates? Save the environment demonstrations?”  
“Yes. I overheard how your ex made plans with a blonde and I want to ruin his date.”  
“He asked me out for dinner, yes.”  
“What did you say?”  
“Why?”  
“Because I don’t want you going.”  
“Why’s that?”  
“Because I want you here with me.”  
“That should be enough for me to tell him I’ve no time but after you made me mad you have to do better than that. Give me a very good reason why I shouldn’t meet him, have an expensive steak he’ll pay for, a huge chocolate sundae and some exquisite champagne. You have to offer something really good. Better than just a look at your sexy long legs.”  
“You want to make it hard for me.”  
“Yes.”  
“Doesn’t work I know something good that’s not a punishment for me.”  
“Like what? And are you sure it will be enough?”  
Sara bent over, slipped onto Sofia and kissed her softly. Not only a short kiss her lips met the lips of the blonde and started playing with hers. Softly, carefully and gently she bite and kissed Sofia, smirking when she heard the little moan escaping from Sofia when she realized Sara’s kiss was a real kiss and not a little short one.   
“Is this a good start?” Sara whispered when she let her lips run over Sofia’s cheeks.   
“Are you playing me or are you serious?”  
“Sofia.” Sara stopped to find the deep blue eyes of the other woman. Eyes more beautiful than any ocean could be. “Do you really think I’d play with you and your feelings?”  
Eyes brown like old whiskey looking softly at her, the taste of red lips still on her own lips and a shiver that still ran over her body. No, Sara didn’t look like she wanted to play Sofia. She looked like she wanted this kiss as much as Sofia did.   
“No.”  
“Good.”  
“But why…what made you change your mind? Suddenly.”  
“Not suddenly. I took me some time, that’ right. I wanted this last week when I made myself your birthday present. You, being somebody who cares a lot about people you like, didn’t take the chance. That made it obvious to me that I was right with my feelings about you but on the other side it made it clear I’ve to do the first step. Something that’s really hard for me. In my head I worked on a good strategy and the only thing I came up with was this one. I knew when he asked you out for dinner I had to do something, I was too jealous to let him have you tonight.   
And I was afraid you might want to take him back. After all I didn’t make it easy for you and he wants to make it very easy.”  
“He isn’t who I want.”  
“Sometimes people settle with the second best.”  
“No, I won’t. I took the second best once I won’t do that again.”  
“If you consider me as the best you can have the best.”  
“You are the best.” Sofia kissed Sara. Finally she could kiss her. And she didn’t feel guilty after it. She didn’t feel like she pushed Sara into something, like she only responded the kiss because she didn’t want to hurt Sofia. It felt like Sara wanted it as much as she did.   
“Does that mean you will have dinner with me?”  
“What if I told him already I’ll have dinner with him?”  
“I’ll be jealous.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes. I might scratch his eyes out.”  
“Keep your claws to yourself, come with me to the main island. I will have dinner with Marcus but I’ll be your dessert.”  
“Why can’t I kill him?”  
“Because even if I’m not a cop anymore I had to call them. Or run away with you. We both like it here so why don’t you have a chat with Rhys, keep an eye on me and after dinner I’m all yours?”  
“Watching my beautiful girlfriend having dinner with an arrogant model.” Sara made a grimace that got kissed away from Sofia. She had called her her girlfriend. She was serious. And had no clue how happy she made Sofia with her last sentence. She was Sara’s girlfriend. Sara did the first step, she really wanted her. Right now there couldn’t be a person on this planet who was happier than Sofia. And even if the temptation to cancel her dinner with Marcus was huge and she preferred to be with Sara, she couldn’t cancel it. They made the plan, Sofia promised to be there and she was a person who always kept her promise. 

“I still want to scratch his eyes out.” Sara hissed when she saw Marcus waiting for Sofia on a table not too far away from the bar.   
“Save your energy for me.”  
“I could also take a knife and cut his…”  
“Shush! Rhys, do me a favor and take good care of her.”   
“Why don’t you do that yourself, my Golden Treasure?”   
“Because she has a date, a dinner date with a famous Time Square poster guy.” Sara eyes practically ribbed Marcus apart.   
“He invited me for dinner before Sara made the decision she wants to be with me. So I’ll have dinner with him and her for dessert. Make sure my dessert is here when I’m back.” Sofia grinned, bent over and kissed Sara shortly. “Don’t run away I’ll have an eye on you.”  
“I’ve two on your and Mister Universe.”  
“On him and me or just on me?”  
“One more sentence and I won’t let you go at all.”  
“I’ll be all yours after dinner.”  
“If he lets you go.”  
“He will. Otherwise you can scratch and cut and whatever else you want.”  
“I want you, only you.”  
“Aww.” Sofia hugged Sara. “You’re so cute. Rhys, make sure she’ll be here, she’s my brown treasure.”  
“Okay Golden Treasure.” Rhys smirked. “Go and have your dinner, don’t let the Beauty be alone too long.”  
“Never.” One last look in the eyes of her girlfriend, a sigh and Sofia left the bar to meet Marcus.   
Rhys put his head on his hand and observed Sara whose eyes seemed to glue on Sofia. Not for a second she let her out of her sight, watched her hugging Marcus and how they sat down for dinner. “She doesn’t even see him.”  
“If he won’t get his hand off her arm right away I’ll throw something hard and heavy on his head.”  
“Beauty, he can look as much as he wants she doesn’t even notice him. Her eyes wander the whole time to you.”  
“I can feel them, aren’t they lovely blue?”  
“Like the ocean. Beauty? Beauty? Sara!”  
“Huh? Sorry.” Sara was lost in the thought of Sofia’s eyes.   
“What happened to you? I mean that my Golden Treasure had more than a soft spot for you was obvious, she said so. You on the other hand tried to ignore the fact that the two of you are made for each other. I don’t complain but what made you change your mind?”  
“She. You know when we were in Vegas and gave her myself as a birthday present. The best opportunity for her to get whatever she wanted. You know what she did? Nothing. She snuggled into my arms and that’s it. She never tried to use my offer for her own advantage.”  
“Of course not. And you were too shy that you left the first step to her?”  
“Yes.” Sara felt how she blushed.   
“Until today.”  
“What makes you think I did something and not Sofia? Maybe she was sick and tired of waiting for me.”  
“No, I know her better. She wanted to leave it all up to you. You kissed her today.”  
“Yes. Even I didn’t believe me anymore that she’s nothing more than a good friend. And after I told myself for a few days that there’s nothing bad nor wrong with giving in, showing my feelings I took the chance and kissed her when she was back home. The timing was perfect, she was mad because Willy and me want some of the corals prohibited for divers. I kissed her anger away.”  
“Smart woman. You got yourself a treasure. Now you don’t need your room anymore. Did you ever use it?”  
“Yes I did and I plan to use it in future too.”  
“She won’t like that. Or do you plan to get her into your room?”  
“Maybe. Can I go there and kick his ass? He undresses her with his eyes.”  
“Can you blame him?”  
“I can and will kill him if he gets his hands on her.”  
“Oh Beauty, she will do that herself. You can relax. Even when they were a couple she never looked at him the way she looks at you. I’m sure you were on her mind all the time.”  
“She told me once he was only a stopgap.”  
“I don’t doubt that. When I met her the first time it was obvious she missed something. She was never interested in a relationship with anybody, it seemed to me like she left her heart with somebody else, somebody who didn’t know about her feelings. The way she looked at you when she saw you here at the bar it was more than obvious you’re the one. I can’t read her mind but I bet you’re in her heart for a long, long time.”  
“Why?” Sara couldn’t imagine that Sofia had been interested in her before. Why should she? They weren’t even friends. There was no reason for the blonde to like or even have a crush on her. That didn’t make sense.   
“Only a feeling.”  
“Usually your feelings are right.”  
“I’m good, I know.”  
“Smug like the blonde.”  
“After the kiss and the look you gave her you shouldn’t call her smug anymore.”  
“Why do I have to lie now?”  
“No, you could be nice.”  
“I am – and honest. I won’t lie.”  
“Talking about the truth, want to hear a true story?”  
“Will it be a voodoo story?”  
“No, you don’t believe in voodoo. A story about a pirate boat.”  
“Pirates?” Sara sighed. “At least they existed. Past tense. Please remember that when you tell me your story.”  
“One day I get you to lose this huge sense for reality for a moment.” Rhys put another cocktail in front of Sara. “I talked about the wreck you found at the one hour island with my grandmother. She told me the ‘Watcher’ got its name because it was the watch boat for a bigger one, the ‘Keeper’. Both belonged to a group of pirates who were famous for robbing boats of rich people who came to America. Their golden time was short, after only half a year both boats vanished. Not without a treasure of a rich Spanish man who wanted to buy a huge part of California and Mexico. Nobody ever found a body nor the gold that was supposed to be on the boats. It’s possible that the ‘Keeper’ is somewhere near to where you found the wreck of the ‘Watcher’. And it’s also possible that there’s a lot of gold around.”  
“If there were gold people had started to look for the other boat. It’s not like we got the wreck here without anybody noticing.”  
“If nobody knows about the gold and the other boat they can’t look.”  
“Why does your tribal not look for the boat and the gold? And how do they know the wreck it the ‘Watcher’? There was no name on it.”  
“Sofia described the wreck, I described it to my grandmother and she told me it’s the ‘Watcher’.”  
“You shouldn’t smoke wheat anymore.”  
“You should widen your mind, Beauty.”  
“Not if I need drugs for it.”  
“Come on, did you never dream to be an adventurer when you were a child?”  
“No.”  
“A heroine?”  
“No.”  
“Have you always been realistic and…”  
“Boring?”  
“Stuck to reality?”  
“Yes.”  
Rhys sighed. “Okay, I give up.”  
“You’re story is finished?”  
“No but I’m not sure if you want to hear the rest.”  
“Tell me the rest, please.” Maybe she could become a person who loved adventures and was a heroine. If his story was good she could give it a try.   
“Okay. The ‘Keeper’ was supposed to come back to San Diego but there was a huge storm, they would call it ‘El Niño’ nowadays. They never arrived, there were boats sent out to look for them and they all came back with empty hands. Maybe they didn’t see the island and sank.”  
“And now millions of dollars are somewhere on the ground of the ocean.”  
“You never know until you look and find out.”  
“Chase a ghost.”  
“Look for a pirate’s treasure.”  
“I’ve a Golden Treasure, one is enough.” Sara looked at Sofia who was in a conversation with Marcus. When she felt Sara’s eyes on her she looked up and smiled.   
“She’s worth more than any gold.” Rhys agreed.  
“Yes. And she’d love to find a treasure. So I’ll tell her the story and ask her to come with me to find another wreck. Even if we don’t find a damn thing she’ll enjoy it, she’ll love it and that’s the most important thing for me. I want her happy.”  
“For real happiness she needs only you. Everything else is a bonus.”  
“She deserves a lot of bonus. Do you think you can find somewhere a slice of chocolate cake? Or anything else I can give her as a dessert.”  
“As far as I remember she wanted you as her dessert. What doesn’t mean she wouldn’t eat the chocolate off you. Let me have a look what I can find for you. Maybe there’s something you can seduce her with.” Rhys grinned. He was sure all Sofia wanted was Sara but why not find a topping for Sara?   
“Is he still undressing her with his eyes?” Not that she minded like she didn’t stab the wooden bar with a toothpick she found.   
“Yes and she’s still ignoring it. Sara, her thoughts are with you. No matter what he’ll do or say you’re the one who’s on her mind. You have been there for a long time, now her spirit can rest and can let her settle down.”  
“Her spirit?” That sounded a little bit weird.   
Rhys smiled. “Yes. Your spirit and her spirit are together what means both of you can settle down. You’re home.”  
“Voodoo again.”  
“Don’t you feel like home?”  
Sara mumbled something. Yes she felt like home but when you lived in a place like this you had no other choice. Magical Beach was the home everybody was looking for. When you arrived here you were where you wanted to be, you were home. That had nothing to do with voodoo.   
“It’s not voodoo, it’s Magical Beach.”  
“A magic beach, magic is voodoo.”  
“Isn’t voodoo common on the other side of the US? Shouldn’t you live closer to Haiti?”  
“My great grandfather came there.”  
“Was he a voodoo priest?”  
“No, his father was.”  
“Like you.”  
“I know some things about voodoo but I’m not a voodoo priest. He was a real priest.”  
“So your great-great grandfather made zombies?”  
“There’s always an amused sound in your voice when you say things like this, Sara. Did you notice this?”  
“Sorry but I don’t believe in zombies. When people are dead they are dead and don’t come back.”  
“Are you religious?”  
“No.”  
“Okay, let me give you an example for a zombie more people believe in: Jesus Christ. He raised from the death after three days and millions of people believe that while they swear there are and were no zombies.”  
“I don’t believe Jesus Christ existed. And if a person existed with his name and he would tell the same stories today he ended up in a mental hospital.”  
“Probably. A lot of people who don’t think and talk like most people do end up there. We call it schizophrenia the native Americans called them shaman. People use LSD to experience what is real for schizophrenic people when they have positive symptoms.”  
Sara bit her lips. This wasn’t a topic she liked. It reminded her too much of her mother.   
“We are who we are, everything happens for a reason and you are not responsible for what somebody else did.” Rhys’ arms pulled Sara in. Again he felt she needed him, needed some comfort and his aura worked straight away.   
“My mom is schizophrenic, she killed my dad when I was a child.” She didn’t intend to say these words they just popped of her mouth.   
“It wasn’t your fault. Neither the fact that she has the disease nor that she killed him.”  
“My life had been difficult before it didn’t get easier afterwards.”  
“Your life gave you the possibility to become who you are. You were a scared child, bruised, left alone and you turned yourself into a strong intelligent woman who not only made her life better but also the lives of many other people. You brought peace to them and to yourself. That’s a present Sara.”  
“I’m not sure if I want this present with all its side-effects.”  
“This present completes you. It’s a part of you. I’m sure Sofia loves this part of you too.”  
“She doesn’t know.”  
“When it’s the right time you’ll tell her, she’ll listen and she’ll understand you and will continue to love you. And she looks very worried right now. Why don’t you send her a little smile?” He gave her a little space so Sara could turn in his arms. Her eyes found the eyes of her lover and she send her a little smile. Rhys was right, Sofia looked worried and only relaxed a little bit after the smile.   
“Come on, we take a little walk.”   
“Don’t you have to…?”  
“If free you’ll not come I will use force.” He grabbed her, lifted her up and carried her to the beach. Instead of fighting his arms and hands, Sara held on. Maybe it was a little bit childish but she felt safe in his arms and it was nice to be carried.   
Rhys let her down when he stood with his feet in the shallow water.   
“This is far enough, we can’t go further away there’s somebody who wants to see where you are, how you are.”  
“And I want to see what she’s doing. There’s an arrogant model next to her who wants her in his bed.”  
“You’ve a voodoo priest by your side, I can put a spell on him and he’ll never make a woman happy again.”  
“You can do that?” Sara cocked her head interested. When she thought about it voodoo wasn’t that bad. It could be useful sometimes and offered interesting possibilities.   
“We won’t put spells on anybody, Sara. We use voodoo for positive things. Like a stone that shows you who is the right one for you.”  
“You were influencing me, playing me.”  
“No, the stone showed you who you want. It didn’t change your life it gave you a short way to happiness.”  
“Sofia won’t say it was a short way.”  
“No, for her it was a test of patience and she passed it.”  
“She passes every test you give her, she’s good.”  
“She’s the best. Especially for you. Without voodoo.”  
“Why aren’t you an active voodoo priest? Don’t fathers give this to their sons from generation to generation?”  
“My great-grandfather left Haiti because he didn’t want to have anything to do with voodoo. He was like you, a scientist. He went to America, studied, worked and tried to ignore and forget his past. You can’t erase your past of your life. You need to find a space for it in your life, need to come to a point where you’re in peace with it. Only then you can have a good and successful present and future.   
My great-grandfather died of a heart attack, he wasn’t forty. His son, my grandfather, was sure his great-grandfather put a spell on his son for disbelieving. So my grandfather went to Haiti, talked to his grandfather, let him explain voodoo. He wasn’t a priest but he believed and found a way to have the past of his family, the voodoo, in his life and go on with the life he started to build in America. He raised my father like this who did the same with me. We all believe in voodoo, it’s our religion but we do have an ordinary life like anybody else…as much as you can call this an ordinary life.” Rhys laughed. A life on Magical Beach wasn’t ordinary, it was special.   
“You don’t make humans to zombies.”  
“No.”  
“Could you?”  
“Every skilled medical doctor or chemistry professor can do so. With the right pills you can slow the heartbeat of person down so that doctors will think this person is dead. When the pill doesn’t work anymore the person wakes up. If the funeral was organized fast he wakes up six feet under. If he was lucky he wakes up in the morgue before the medical examiner tried to cut him.”  
“We had at least one case in Vegas when our medical examiner had somebody on his table who wasn’t really dead. A few teens took some pills to experience how it is to be a zombie.”  
“Did they survive?”  
“Two died, one survived.”  
“It’s strong, the chances you’ll die are higher than that you’ll wake up. It’s nothing to play with, it’s nothing to try. I wish people wouldn’t be so careless with their lives.”  
“I think we take our life for granted and stop looking after it. You feel invincible when you’re young, bad things only happen to other people. Unfortunately most times when you realize you are wrong it’s too late.”  
“Be thankful you realized how important Sofia is to you before it was too late.”  
“I am.” Sara turned to look for her girlfriend. She was very happy and thankful that she realized her future wasn’t somewhere in a jungle or a crime lab but here with Sofia. If she had known this years ago she could have saved both a lot of waiting and trouble.   
But how did they say: better late than never!

Friday

Sofia got pushed in front of the kitchenette. Her protest was washed away with a passionate kiss and her hands got held back behind her back.   
“No matter what you do you lost.”  
“I didn’t.” Sara grinned. They had made a swimming contest from the main island to their island and Sofia was sure Sara cheated. Not only did she pushed Sofia under water at the start, she also grabbed her legs and let her pull her when Sofia overtook her.   
“You didn’t play fair.”  
“We never said we make a fair play contest we said we make a swimming contest. And I was first under the shower.”  
“You were lucky that you locked your bathroom I had joined you and smash your head a few times against the wall.”  
“No, you hadn’t.”  
“Cheater.”  
“Loser. For a former cop you’re a poor show.”  
“That’s enough.” Sofia stabbed Sara with her fingers in the side what made the brunette squeak. “Hah!” Now she knew how she could revenge, Sara was ticklish that was Sofia’s payback.   
“Get lost!” Sara stepped behind the couch to get some space between her and Sofia.   
“No way.” Sofia started to walk around the couch, Sara walked to other way. With a few huge steps she was at the door and ran out of the bungalow.  
“Coward!” Sofia chased after her. For five minutes the blonde chased the brunette over the little island, around trees, over the boat before Sara vanished in the house. Sofia locked the front door behind her, took the key in her pocket and went into Sara’s room. Empty. When she checked the bathroom she heard how somebody tried to open the front door.   
“Bitch1”  
“Got you!”   
Sara escape in Sofia’s room, tried to close the door but Sofia’s feet was in the door and she pushed it open. Before Sara could make it in the bathroom, she got the arm of her girlfriend and tossed her onto the bed.   
“Looks like I caught a little runaway.” Sofia sat on Sara’s belly.   
“You locked the door, you played unfair.”  
“I thought we were chasing each other and not playing fair.” Sofia answered bittersweet. Payback was a bitch and she loved this bitch.   
“That’s so not fair.” Sara tried to push Sofia away but the blonde got the hands of the other woman and pushed them down.   
“You lost.” She kissed Sara. “And stop fighting me, I won’t let you escape.”  
“We’ll see about that.” Sara’s lips found Sofias. If she could make her loosen her grip for a second there was a chance to escape. Most times the blonde forgot to fight when they were kissing, it wasn’t fair but they didn’t play fair. They were at war.   
“Nice try, Sara.”   
“What the…” Horrified Sara realized she was chained. Some-where between the kisses Sofia got a pair of handcuffs out of nowhere and cuffed Sara’s left hand to the bedpost.   
“For a bad cop I’m not too bad.”  
“You…”  
“Thanks.” Sofia got Sara’s right hand and cuffed it to the other bedpost.   
“Why do you have handcuffs here?”  
“Because I used to be a cop and you never know when they come in handy. I wonder how you plan to run away now.”  
“Take them off!”  
“No way.” Sofia bent over and kissed Sara’s throat. “They make sure you stay here and I can have my revenge. You make me swallow salty water, you tried to drown me, you locked me out, my revenge will be painful, Honey. The next time you plan to cheat you will think first of the consequences.”  
“You’re a bad loser.”  
“I’m free to go wherever I want, you’re the one who is chained to the bed. Looks like you’re the loser. I’ve got you in my hands.”   
“Get your hands off me.”  
“No way. I think it’s very convenient that you wear only a bikini I can take that off without having you unchained.”  
“If you dare to…” Sara’s protest was stopped with a long kiss. Sofia’s tongue played softly with Sara’s and before the brunette realized it, her bikini top was gone.   
“An almost naked woman in my bed, chained to the bedpost. That’s what I call a hot fantasy. Let’s see what we do with the legs.”  
“I kick you through the wall if you try to chain them too.”  
“Really?” Sofia didn’t plan to do so until Sara dared her. It was the brunette’s own fault. She knew it was never a good idea to dare her. Maybe she did it because she wanted Sofia to chain her to the bed. As much as she loved Sara’s hand on her body this could be interesting and very exciting too.   
Slowly she let her lips run over Sara’s thigh, kissed the knee, stroke the invisible line she kissed with her fingers and got the handcuff around Sara’s ankles.   
“Got you again.” Before Sara could react Sofia had the other ankle and cuffed it too. “I’d say you can’t move anymore.”  
“I live with a person who has cuffs on her bedpost. What are you playing here every night when I’m asleep?”  
“I show you.”  
“You get yourself into trouble, my dear. That’s deprivation of personal freedom.”  
“Mhm.” Sofia placed herself next to Sara, kissed her throat, nibbled at the ear. “Tell me now if you want me to unchain you. I’ll do it. If you don’t say it now I’ll start my revenge and I won’t stop until we’re both exhausted and sweaty. Your decision. If you want your hands and legs back you get them. I won’t do anything you don’t like.”  
“I trust you, Sofia.”  
“Thanks. And I’m very grateful you wear a bikini string with little hooks at the side. Otherwise I had to cut it.” Sofia unhooked Sara’s bikini string and pulled it away. “Now you’re naked and mine. I take a few seconds to savor this, my beautiful girlfriend, chained to my bed, all mine.”  
“All talk no action.” Sara smirked.   
Sofia raised her eyebrows. “You get your action.” She started to kiss her way from Sara’s left hand over the arm, shoulder to the other hand, back to the throat, up, covered Sara’s face with kisses without touching the lips of the brunette. 5  
“You missed a spot.”  
“No, I didn’t miss it I ignored it. I might ignore spots you want me to kiss more often. It’s part of my plan.”   
“What plan?”  
“Making you crazy.” She sat on Sara’s belly, let her hands run over the other woman’s body.   
“Why are you dressed?”  
“Because you didn’t undress me.”  
“Funny. I never had a chance.”  
“So?”  
“So I think you should strip for me.”  
“Would you like that?”  
“Yes.”  
“Okay.” Slowly Sofia started to open her bikini top, let it slip down first on one side before she had it in her hands, placed it next to Sara’s head and bent so far forward that her breasts were in front of Sara’s face. The brunette tried to reach the nipple but Sofia kept the distance so that Sara needed an inch more. Annoyed because she couldn’t change her position any-more and was helpless she grumbled.   
“In your dreams, Sara, in your dreams. You won’t do anything.” Sofia got up, left the bed and got very slowly and lasciviously out of her bikini string, With a smirk she threw it next to Sara’s face. -  
While Sara’s attention was on the string next to her head Sofia was back on the bed. She kissed her way from the left ankle over the knee, the tight to the bellybutton. Coy she let her tongue run around it, kissed it, stick her tongue in it and listened to Sara’s breath that got louder and faster.   
Osculatory she left the bellybutton and made her way further down to the inner side of the left tight, lifted her head a bit to reach the right tight, leaving out the center what Sara commend with an angry snort. She didn’t have many chance to make Sofia touch her where she wanted, the cuffs were tight and she didn’t have more than an inch or two of range.   
With a smirk Sofia commend Sara’s anger. No way. She placed herself between the long legs and blew softly air over Sara’s skin.   
“Stop teasing me!”  
“Make me stop.”  
“Please.”  
“Let me think of it.” She crawled closer to Sara’s center and touched with her tongue gently Sara’s clit. A loud moan was the reaction she got. Followed by anger when Sofia’s lips moved away back to the bellybutton.   
“You’re not very patient.”  
“Bite me.”  
“Your wish is my command.” Sofia bit softly her way back to the inner tights, avoided the center again before she stroke with her tongue again very softly over Sara’s clit. She tasted her lover, she tasted how aroused she was, how much she wanted Sofia to do more. For a moment she was tempted to give in, to do exactly what Sara wanted. Then she got herself together.   
With little kisses she made her way back up, stopped at the breasts to spend a lot of time kissing, sucking and biting around the nipples before she included them in her little game. Moans and groans of pleasure told her, her lips and tongue were skilled.   
“How are you?” She whispered in Sara’s ear when she arrived there.   
“You tease me.”  
“It’s part of the game. Are you all right with the cuffs?” As much as Sofia enjoyed having Sara like this, she needed for her own sake to hear that Sara was all right. If the cuffs were too tight or her lover didn’t want them anymore, felt in any kind of way uncomfortable with them, Sofia would take them off immediately.   
“They stop me from stopping you teasing me.”  
“That’s what they are there for. Everything else is okay?”  
“Yes. I trust you Sofia. I know you’ll take them off if I ask you to do so.”  
“Yes I will. But I won’t take them off to let you join the game. Your part isn’t an active, your part is to enjoy and take pleasure.”  
“My part is to wait for your mercy.”  
“Believe me at the end you’ll be satisfied. Until then I’ll play a little bit more with you.”  
“Like you already do?”  
“More.” Sofia kissed Sara, let their tongues play with each other while her hands and finger rubbed softly over Sara’s breasts, teased the nipples. After a little while she started to kiss her way down with breaks at the nipples and the bellybutton.   
Writing with her tongue Sara’s name on her inner right tight and Sofia’s name on the other side gave her the possibility to tease Sara more. It was not only the satisfaction of seeing her lover in front of her, waiting for her to satisfy her, she did all these things also for herself. She felt how wet she was between her legs and made the decision to share this with Sara.  
“Just to let you know you’re not the only one who’s aroused.” Slowly she slipped up and down Sara’s leg.   
“Oh god Sofia.”  
“Feels good, doesn’t it? It’s all because of you.”  
“Unchain me and you’ll get even more.”  
“Nice try. I should punish you for that.” She stayed on Sara’s knee, bent forward and kissed the clit of her lover. Instead of pulling her head back she gave it a little massage with her tongue, listening to Sara’s moans, feeling the shivers in both bodies, tasting her.   
Sara had started to move her leg a bit to rub Sofia’s clit as much as possible. Something against the rules but it felt too good for Sofia to end it. Maybe she could give Sara the satisfaction of having this little bit of power over her. Or she had to get the mind of the brunette off her to something else.   
Gently she slipped a finger into Sara who commend this with a load groan. There she goes. It wasn’t that difficult to get the attention of the brunette back to herself. Adding a second finger she increased the speed and pressure a bit. They were together for less than two weeks but Sofia knew already where the sensitive spots of her girlfriend were, what she liked and what she had to do to make Sara lose her mind.   
Not now. That would be too easy.   
She pulled her fingers out, moved up until her clit touched Sara’s. God, that felt good. Lowering herself over the brunette Sofia dove into another long kiss with Sara, her hands running over the hot and sweaty skin of her lover.   
“I love you.” She whispered.   
“I love you too. And I’ll kill you if you stop again.”  
“You were about to come and it was too early. I’m not done with you.”  
“Are you planning to let me suffer the whole night?”  
“No, we’ve plans for tomorrow. But a little bit more.”  
“Am I allowed to do the same to you afterwards?”  
“Honey when I’m done with you, you won’t be able to do anything than falling asleep in my arms.”  
“I can’t fall asleep without making you come before.”  
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I do exactly what I want.”  
“You play me.”  
“I play with you.”  
“You…oh don’t stop that!”  
Sofia smirked and pulled her finger back. Just a tiny little game with the clit of her lover and a reaction she wanted.   
“Bitch! You…”  
“Honey, if you assault me I make you suffer even more. Bear in mind what you call me.” Sofia kissed Sara one more time on the lips and started her way down. This time she slipped inch for inch over Sara’s knee, taking all her time to kiss and nibble on every inch, teasing, more kissing, touching, biting. Shivers ran through Sara’s body before Sofia’s lips kissed her clit and teased her with her fingers. Fondle, she entered Sara for an inch, out again, fondle again, back in, a little bit deeper, always paying attention to the breath of the other woman, making sure to stop before she went too far.   
Sofia felt how she got aroused more and more. It was not only Sara’s soft moves with her knee, it was to listen to Sara, to realize she reacted, acted and breathed the way she did only because of Sofia. She trusted her, there was no fear, nothing that indicated Sara wasn’t absolutely fine. Both women enjoyed this, both wanted it.   
Feeling it wouldn’t take long anymore before she came Sofia got her full attention back on Sara. She entered her with two fingers, deep this time and moved them in circles. Sara cried out in sensation, her legs started to twitch, her breath got faster. She wasn’t far from the edge. Time for Sofia’s tongue to join the game. With soft and at the same time hard strokes she massaged the clit and when Sara came Sofia sucked the clit to make the sensation for Sara even bigger. Then she relaxed and let herself got carried over the edge.   
Exhausted she managed to get back face to face with Sara, dropped next to her, a leg placed over the brunette’s belly, heavy breathing, covered in sweat. If Sara wanted to be unchained she had to wait a minute or two. Right now Sofia didn’t have the energy to move a limb anymore. 

Saturday

Was there a better way to wake up than soft kisses that were placed all over your face? The feeling of naked skin on your own naked skin, a hand that caressed your body and slipping from a nice dream straight into some lovely good morning sex. Sofia doubted that she ever woke up better than today. The day had started good and there were no signs that it should change.   
They were on their way to the one hour island. If Sofia calcu-lated correct they arrived there half an hour before the island was visible. The perfect time to set the anchor and get prepared for their first dive. Half an hour for the first one and another one later.   
Sara’s lips got her out of her thoughts.   
“If you dream while we’re on the boat don’t smile that smug. Otherwise I might throw you into the ocean.”  
“I don’t smile smug, it’s a happy smile because my beautiful girlfriend and I are having a day off, spent the night with great sex, sleep and she woke me up with some more sex. Now the sun shines, there’s a light wind and we might find gold.”  
“Which part of your itemization is the most important one?”  
“The one that points you out as my girlfriend.”  
“Your girlfriend who will hide your cuffs.”  
“Why? You can’t tell me you didn’t like what I did with you.”  
“I did but next time it will be you who is chained to the bed and me who tortures you.”  
“I take that as a promise and not as a threat.”  
“It’s both.”  
Sofia grinned widely.  
“What?”  
“You’re so cute when you pretend to be dangerous and mean and bitchy.”  
“You called me a bitch.”  
“That was a long time ago. Nowadays you’re tame. I tamed you.”  
“Don’t be too sure of yourself.”  
“Come here and give me a kiss.”  
Sara snorted and went to the end of the boat. Just what Sofia expected her to do. She made sure Sara stood next to the ladder before she accelerated quickly. With a loud splash ended Sara in the water. Laughing Sofia stopped the boat and went back to the ladder to see where her girlfriend was. A few seconds later she appeared, cursing, spilling water.   
“You…you…did that on purpose!”   
“Sometimes it’s safer to kiss your girlfriend than pouting.”  
“I could be dead.”  
“Honey, you can swim.”  
“I could have hit my head somewhere, lose my conscious and drown.”  
“No.”  
“Yes.”  
“No. I made sure there was nothing between the water and you. And I was ready to jump into the water to rescue you.”  
“I hate you.”  
“I love you so much that’s enough for two.”  
Sara threw an angry look at Sofia, swam to the boat and started to climb the ladder. When Sofia offered her for the last step her hand, she took it and pulled the blonde with her into the water.   
“Payback.”  
“I love you anyway.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms and kissed her. Weren’t they crazy? Teasing, mocking and kissing in the ocean. They didn’t act like responsible adults.   
“Let’s get out of the water before a shark gets the idea to love us as it’s breakfast.”  
“You’d be the most delicious breakfast it ever had.” Sofia climbed the ladder and practically jumped on the boat when Sara pinched her in her rear end.   
“Stop that!”  
“Sorry, that looked so delicious I had to appreciate it. Just looking wasn’t enough, I had to touch it.”  
“You didn’t touch you pinched.”  
“Yes, I pinched your sexy ass and I don’t feel guilty or bad. And I’ll do it again.”  
“Cheeky seaman.”  
“Start the boat captain.”  
Sofia smiled, pulled Sara in her arms and started the boat. This way she could not only make sure her lover didn’t fell into the water again, she also had her in her arms which made the boat trip perfect. Everything was perfect when Sara was in her arms. 

“Ready?” Sofia asked after she checked Sara’s gear.   
“Yes. Cross check okay. You didn’t make a mistake, teacher.”  
“Of course not I’m good.”  
“You’re mine.” Sara kissed Sofia before she put on her mask. With a smile she let herself fall into the water. Time to dive.   
“And I love to be your property.” Sofia sighed happily and followed Sara. They were on the west of the one hour island, around fifty yards away from where they found the wreck.   
Sara waited for her and together they made their way down. The water was about thirty yards deep and they couldn’t see many fishes. Slowly they got deeper, Sara had to lead and guided both a little bit further away from the island. It was her dive, she could choose where they wanted to go. Sofia’s job was to make sure they got back to the boat in time.   
It wasn’t an exciting diving area, the water was too deep and there weren’t any corals around. Not like the colorful diving areas around the main island. But it was quiet, they saw some bigger fishes.   
When Sofia wanted to give Sara a sign that it was time to get back up the brunette became excited. A few times she pointed to something a little bit further away from them. It looked like a wreck. The ‘Keeper’? Sofia saw how excited Sara was nevertheless she had to get her back up. They didn’t have enough oxygen for a longer dive and needed a break.   
“Didn’t you see…” Sara started as soon as their head s were out of the water.  
“Sara, we had to get up, our oxygen is empty and we need a break. We were down there for forty-five minutes. We’ll got back down after the break.”  
“But…”  
“No!”  
“You saw it too.”  
“I saw it and I want to go down there after we had a break.” Sofia climbed back on the boat and helped Sara up.   
“Do you think it’s the ‘Keeper’? Like Rhys told us.”  
“I don’t know. Since when are you crazy about wrecks and Rhys’ stories?”  
“Since…I know it’s crazy but I like the idea that we might find a treasure.”  
“I found one already.” Sofia smiled.  
“Huh? Oh, yeah I found a golden treasure…”  
“Which isn’t as worthy as real gold?”  
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Sara pulled Sofia in her arms and kissed her softly. “You’re worth more than any gold in the world. I love you.” She leant into Sofia’s arms. “I’m sorry that you had to pull me away from the wreck. You’re the experienced one, I promised you to listen and do what you want because usually I shouldn’t do these dives. We go back down when you think we’re ready and I’ll do what you say.”  
“I love it when you’re enthusiastic and I don’t want to spoil your fun but even more important for me is that you’re safe. Of course it’s a great adventure to discover a wreck and an even bigger adventure to find gold but your health is my highest priority. Maybe we found the ‘Keeper’ maybe it’s another boat whatever it is we’ll have a look later.”  
“Will we get it to the island like the other wreck?”  
“If our boss wants it there.”  
“What if we get it there?”  
“With this boat? Impossible. What do you want with it anyway?”  
“Our own wreck, something we can explore.”  
“Your own playground.” Sofia laughed. “An expensive play-ground.”  
“Not if we find gold.”  
“Okay, if we find gold when we’re down there I’ll call the guy who got the other wreck to the island.”  
“How long can we stay there?”  
“One hour top.”  
“We’ll never get through the whole wreck in one hour. What about a second dive later?”  
“That would be the third for today.”  
“Too many?”  
“I don’t like the idea that we have more than two. It’s deep, you’re not very experienced and we don’t have enough oxygen for two more longer dives.”  
“We could come back tomorrow.”  
“Let’s make the next dive first and after that we can make our decision. Don’t be too enthusiastic about something that might be nothing. I don’t want to see you disappointed because it’s nothing more than an old wreck filled with water and fishes.”  
“That’s very possible but it would be our own wreck. Imagine we have it in front of our island and can have dinner on it.”  
Sofia kissed Sara. “I love you. First the next dive and then we make a decision?”  
“Yeah.” Sara sighed.   
“Good. Usually you’re the sensible one.”  
“Maybe I got a little bit carried away, spent too much time with Rhys and his stories. After all these weeks here I lost my sense for reality and science.”  
“You’re open for possibilities and other points of view. That could be the reason why you allowed yourself to fall in love with me.”  
“That sounds like I tried to fight against my feelings.”  
“Didn’t you?” Sofia cocked her head.  
“No…I tried to ignore them for a while but I didn’t fight them. It couldn’t be true that I fell in love with a smug blonde.”  
“Do you regret it?”  
“No. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you and I’m happy with you.”  
“Even when I spoil your fun?”  
“Especially when you take care of me.” Sara kissed Sofia passionately. She trusted her girlfriend with her life and when Sofia said it wasn’t safe for them to dive a third time or stay down longer, they would make only one more short dive. 

Sara needed a lot of willpower to dive down slowly. She let Sofia guide them and stayed behind her until they arrived at the wreck. It was around thirty yards long and ten yards wide. The mast was broken in the middle, the canvas long gone. No paddle and to Sara’s relief no bodies. She looked for a name on the wreck, nothing. Like the other wreck.   
Sofia pointed to a door and Sara nodded. There was nothing exciting out here they had to enter the wreck. Carefully of course.   
The door was open or the lock was so old that it didn’t work anymore. Sofia opened it without a problem. It was dark inside and their torches didn’t change it much. As far as Sara could see there wasn’t much to see. At least no gold. Yard by yard they dove their way into the cabin. They were sure there had been a few things inside but the salt and the water had destroyed most of it. No box, no gold, no sign to a huge treasure chest.   
When Sofia gave Sara the sign that it was time for them to get back to the board Sara sighed once and followed her girlfriend like she had promised. Their time down here was over. It had been over half and hour and they needed some time to get back up.   
“Sorry.” Sofia took Sara’s hand when they were back on the boat. “I knew you wanted to have another look around but it was time for us to get back up. We rushed already a bit. Do you feel all right?”  
“Yes I’m fine, don’t worry. What about you?”  
“I’m fine.”  
“Good. Do you want to drive the boat back home?”  
“Without a license?”  
“If we see another boat I take over. Time for you to train for your next project.”  
“You like being my teacher, don’t you?”  
“Yes.”  
“Okay. Love you.” Sara took the keys. Time to show Sofia how fast her boat could be. If she didn’t have a license she didn’t have to worry about rules. 

“He did it! He took the evening off. Wonders do happen!” Sofia hugged Rhys. They called him and asked him to come over for a barbecue. And their friend and bartender followed their call and was on their little island on time.   
“The second time within a month or so.”  
“Yes, amazing.”  
“All for your wife.”  
“She isn’t my wife.”  
“Not yet.” Sara came out of the bungalow, kissed Sofia shortly and sat on Rhys’ lap. “When we’re the next time in Vegas we might change that.”  
“Did you just propose to her, Beauty?”  
“No, I’ll do that in a proper way when it’s the right time.”  
“She loves you, Golden Treasure.”  
“I love her too. More than any gold in the world.” Sofia laughed.   
“She teases me because I got a little excited when we found another wreck today. It could be the ‘Keeper’ but there wasn’t a name on the wreck and we didn’t have enough time to have a closer look. My girlfriend, the one who is usually open for all crazy ideas, didn’t like the idea of us staying down longer nor of taking a third dive. If there is gold we might never find out.”  
“You’ve got a golden treasure.”  
“Yes.”  
“And she does everything to make you happy.”  
“I know.”  
“She even spends a lot of money for you.”  
“The extra rooms?”  
“No, not the bungalow. Shall I tell her what you did?” Rhys looked at Sofia.   
“Yeah tell her what I did.”  
“Your girlfriend, Beauty, ordered a boat for you.”  
“A boat? I don’t have a license yet.”  
“You don’t need a license for that boat.”  
“Don’t tell me I get a rubber boat.”  
Sofia and Rhys started laughing. The imagination Sara sitting in a rubber boat was good. Very far away from the truth but definitely something that amused them. And something they wanted to see one day.   
“No.”  
“You’re making fun of me.”  
“No.” Rhys shook his head. “You put a nice picture in our head and had to enjoy that for a moment. No, she didn’t buy a rubber boat for you. Bigger.”  
“Bigger?”  
“Yes.”  
“Tell her what it is, Rhys.”  
“She ordered the tug boat for tomorrow. You’ll have your own wreck in your front garden…or shall I say ocean. Inclusive gold and whatever else the pirates left in it.”  
“You’re kidding me.”  
“No.”  
“Sofia?” Sara looked in disbelief at her lover.  
“He’s telling you the truth.”  
“But…there might be nothing in it.”  
“The possibility that nothing interesting is in the boat is bigger than that there is something interesting in it but you want it. The last wreck is open for everybody this one will be yours. You can dive around and in it as much as you want and nobody will bother under. Under one condition!”  
“Which one?”  
“First you let an expert check it, when he says it’s safe you can explore it but not alone.”  
“That’s all?”  
“Yes.”  
”And it will really be here tomorrow?”  
“Yes. Late afternoon.”  
Sara jumped up straight into Sofia’s arms and kissed her. Both fell in the sand, not breaking the kiss. Sofia really ordered a tug boat to get the wreck in front of their home. Sara could only imagine how much her lover had to pay for that. Just to make her happy.   
“You’re crazy.”  
“Crazy for you.”  
“We’ll have our own wreck.”  
“Yes.”  
“Do we take Rhys with us on a diving trip?”  
“No way! I’ll stay above sea level that’s where I belong. You go and have your fun under water and I stay here, wait for you to find the gold and make you some dinner and serve the cocktails. That’s my world, I like it there and I don’t plan to leave it for a wreck and million of fishes and jellyfishes.”  
“He’s cute.” Sara smiled.  
“Yes he is. We’ll keep him.” Sofia got up and pulled Sara up too.   
“Why don’t you come along more often, Rhys?”   
“Because I’ve a job.”  
“So do we. If you finish at the time you’re supposed to finish you could visit us more often.”  
“You can also come to the bar, get some drinks and food, have a talk with me, some of the guests.”  
“I can’t kiss Sofia when we’re at the bar. That would ruin her reputation. And her job. She lives on the fantasy of men that they can have their sexy blonde diving instructor. When they see her kissing me they might stay away.”  
“Or try to get both of you in their bed. The fantasy to have two sexy women in your bed is not seldom with men.”  
“Do you have the same fantasy?”  
“No.”  
“Oh, you don’t think we’re sexy?” Sofia cocked her head.   
“I think you’re both very sexy. And made for each other. There is no place for a man in your lives, all you need is each other. I don’t interfere with destiny. Sara is your destiny, Sofia, like you’re hers.”  
“He’s serious, he called us by our real names.” Sara squeezed Sofia’s hand. “And right. That’s what I like about him, he’s a very clever man.”  
“That’s why he’s our man.” They went to Rhys, each sat on each leg and kissed Rhys whose face was a one huge grin. Looks like he was a very happy man. 

Tuesday

It wasn’t like Sara was nervous or impatient but she had to admit she waited not as relaxed as usual for Sofia’s return home. Why did her lover take her time today? Was it necessary to talk to this guest for such a long time after she finished the last diving course? Three minutes and twenty-seven seconds! You need not more than ten seconds to say goodbye, wish the client a good night and get his answer. The rest of the time should be used to get home ASAP. Like she did. In a new record time with her kayak. Why was she faster than Sofia with a motorboat?   
“You wasted a lot of time talking to this guy!” Sara greeted Sofia at the beach.   
“Huh?” Sofia looked puzzled. She tied her boat to the small dock.   
“Mister bright red swim shorts.”  
“Oh. Don’t tell me you’re jealous because I talked to him. He’s a client who is here for the fifth time. Plus there’s really no reason to be jealous, he’s gay and married to his partner. You can relax, no danger. Besides nobody can be a danger because I love only you and won’t let anybody else close to me.”  
“I wasn’t jealous – but it’s good to know all these things.” Sara smiled, pulled Sofia in her arms and kissed her. “And he’s much more simpatico now that he’s gay.”  
“He’s a nice guy, gay or not. Are you telling me you’re impatient? Couldn’t wait for me to come home because of the dive?”  
“Yes.”  
“I should be offended. You’re supposed to look forward to see me, miss me, want me and not wait for a dive.”  
“Your own fault, my dear. You let them pull the wreck in front of our home, you taught me how to dive and you promised me we’ll have an excursion to the wreck today. The expert said it’s safe, you let it secure with four ropes, there are no reasons not to dive.”  
“Plus you suffer from gold rush.”  
“I want to find expensive jewelry, give it to you and admire my girlfriend with her one million dollar necklace. Of course you’ll look much better than the necklace but…”  
Sofia stopped Sara’s babbling with a kiss. She understood. The brunette had been waiting for this dive since Saturday night. Like a child the last few days before Christmas Day she had been checking on the weather, their gear and work schedule to make sure nothing came in their way.   
“Why don’t I put on my wetsuit and we start our tour?”  
“I’ve got it here.”   
“Sara, do you want me to change here? Where everybody can see me?” She cocked a brow.   
“Well…no…no! You’re mine and I don’t want to share you.” Sara kissed her. “I give you a minute.”  
“A whole minute? Wow.” Sofia chuckled and went into the bungalow. It took her a little bit longer than a minute to come back. Meanwhile Sara had prepared everything so that Sofia only had to put on her gear and follow her excited girlfriend into the water.   
The wreck was around thirty yards away from the shore. Side by side they swam above it before they put on their masks. Time to dive and discover the wreck. Sara hoped they didn’t lose anything when the wreck was pulled to here. What an awful idea, the gold left somewhere on the ground of the ocean, buried under sand, never been found. Why again had she this gold rush?  
Having at least a little bit of a scientist left in herself and being organized she made a copy of the photo she took of the wreck. They had been in the cabin the last time, this time they could have a look at something else. And now that the wreck wasn’t that deep under water they had more time to explore it. Her plan was to examine yard by yard of the wreck. Maybe they found something, maybe not.   
Sofia followed Sara to the wreck. She knew her girlfriend wanted to have a very close look and it they did the dive Sara’s way they would stay down there for the rest of the evening. So Sofia’s job was to make sure they didn’t get carried away by looking for some gold or other treasure. The biggest treasure was next to her, Sara. No matter what this wreck hid, even if it’s hull was filled with gold, her girlfriend was worth more than ten times.   
Sara’s found a hook. The way to go below? The way to the gold? To other treasures? To nothing? Or maybe to a collection of bodies of people who couldn’t get out fast enough. Not what she was after. She had seen enough bodies for the rest of her life. With a sign she made it obvious to Sofia that she wanted to have a look at the hook.   
Together they pulled the hook, opened the hatchway and were greeted by darkness. With stronger torches than the last time they made their way down. Sofia checked her watch. Another half an hour. Enough time to explore the wreck.   
Sara took a look around. Nothing. There was nothing. No treasure chest, no gold, no jewelry. Only fishes and mussels. Not what they were looking for. A little disappointed Sara let the light of her torch run through the room. Maybe they hid the gold. Maybe they had to look closer and…follow the evidence. Oh god, she was back in the CSI mode. Some things never change.   
Nothing. A room filled with nothing. Except water. Why would they have an empty room? Was it a kind of bedroom without beds? Didn’t they sleep in hammocks back in the days? So there had to be a third room. Or…a hidden door! Yes, of course the gold had to be in a hidden room. She had to find the door. Slowly she started to touch every inch of the wall. Probably she had to press the right point and the hidden door would open.   
Lost in her search she flinched when Sofia touched her shoulder. Time to get up again. Could it be that half an hour was over? It felt like five minutes top. Sad that the fun was over and she didn’t find anything at all she followed Sofia. Maybe they would find something the next time.   
“Are you all right?” Sofia asked when they sat on the beach and put off their gear.   
“Yes.”  
“You don’t look too happy.”  
“We didn’t find a pirate’s treasure. The plan was to find some expensive jewelry and give it to you.”  
“Why don’t you give me a kiss instead? That might not shine as nice as gold but it tastes much better and I love you more than any jewelry.”  
Sara pulled Sofia in her arms and kissed her. “I love you.”  
“More than gold?”  
“More than anything…what do you think of having a little swim over to Rhys?”  
“For some more stories?”  
Sara stuck her tongue out.   
“I take that as a yes. There was a time when my girlfriend was happy with me, now she needs stories about gold and treasures. That makes her happy and not me.”   
“Liar.” With one jump was Sara on Sofia’s lap, wrapped her arms around the blonde’s neck and kissed her passionately. There was nothing more important to her than Sofia and she knew that. 

“What did you find?” Rhys leant back and watched Sara and Sofia. “Any gold? Jewelries? Pirates?”  
“No.” Sara sighed.   
“She’s disappointed that she’s not a pirate’s bride. I wonder if she is with me because of me or because of the wreck.”  
“Have you ever met a woman who’s jealous because of a hobby?” Sara chuckled.   
“No. There’s no reason to worry she loves you and she knows you love you. That you’re into the pirate’s stories and like to discover the wreck makes you cute to her. You’re enthusiastic and she enjoys that. You’re even more beautiful when you’re happy. These dreamy brown eyes of you turn into whiskey brown and she drowns in them like you drown in a good bottle of whiskey.”  
“You’re cute.” Sara kissed Rhys. Another evening he didn’t work and was with them. It was a lot of fun to sit at the bar with him but it was also nice to have him over.   
“There! First she thinks of nothing else than gold and now she kisses somebody else!” Sofia held her heart. “She cheats on me with gold and a man…a golden man.”  
“I think I’m not really golden.” Rhys looked at his dark skin. “No, I might be black gold but not golden gold. Besides you’re the Golden Treasure.”  
“You’re priceless, Rhys. Is there any voodoo magic to make Sofia uses her brain again?”  
“Somebody told me there are no such things like voodoo.” Rhys grinned.   
“Maybe it excises and works only for certain people…like diving instructors.”  
“But not for former scientists?”  
“Uhm…They can enjoy your stories.”  
“Without believing they’re true.”  
“Well…that’s not the topic.”  
“She loves to be the center of attention.” Sofia pulled Sara in her arms. “Come here baby, I want you in my arms while Rhys tells us some stories. Tell her about the ‘Keeper’ Rhys. She was so sad when we didn’t find anything today. Tell her where to find the gold.”  
“I can’t tell you if there’s any gold at all.” Rhys laughed. “Just because they might have robbed the boat of the rich Spanish guy it doesn’t mean the gold was with them. They could have hidden it somewhere before their boats sank.”  
“I’ve my personal treasure so I’m happy.” Sara kissed the tip of Sofia’s nose. “Which doesn’t mean I’ll stop looking for gold in the wreck. Rhys, where would they hide the gold? We looked in the cabin and in an empty room. Do you believe they had hidden doors?”  
“If they were smart. This way you can’t steal it, you need to find it. But don’t tell me you’ll get an ax and destroy the wreck to find gold.”  
“No! Of course not.”  
“She searched every inch of the room we were in today.”  
“We have to start somewhere.”  
“Don’t you think you should start in the cabin of the captain? He was in charge, he wanted to make sure none of his men made long fingers and took a handful of gold home. I doubt the gold is somewhere everybody could get to it. Even if nobody knew about the door he needed a place he was alone to enter the hidden room.”  
“True. Sofia, we need to have another look at the cabin.”  
“Can we do that tomorrow?”  
“Yes, I won’t force you to dive with me in the night.”  
“It would be easier if the wreck was above sea level.”  
“Rhys, you’re a landlubber of course you want it above sea level. The Beauty and me are diver, we want to discover the wreck under water. That’s where wrecks belong. That’s where you get the thrill. Maybe it’s more complicated doing it this way but the fun is also more.”  
“Sofia is right, we need to discover the gold under water.”  
“Imagine what you can do with it on the beach. Your own boat. You can have a barbecue on it, your hammocks and enjoy a special time out area.”  
“When we have the wreck here on the island we’ll have a lot of tourists here as well. So far there weren’t many who ended up here but when they see the wreck there’ll be more. People are curious and don’t care about private property. Right Sara?”  
“Bite me.” Sara grinned. It hadn’t been her intention to end up on the island it was an accident that almost ended deadly. “If I hadn’t end up here, hadn’t been caught in the current, you never had a change to rescue me and I wouldn’t be here with you. Or do you think I had fallen for you without having you saving my life?”  
“Yes.”  
“No way! And don’t smirk this smug!”   
“Whenever I’m right and she’s wrong she gets cranky. Women.”  
“You love her anyway.” Rhys laughed.   
“I do. And I won’t let her chase me away, I’ve been waiting for five years to call her mine, now that she is mine I’ll never give her away.”  
“You didn’t want me for five years.” Sara protested.   
“I did.”  
“You had enough other lovers, inclusive a Mister Universe.”  
“Marcus was a stopgap because I was lonely, thought I’d never see you again and never have a chance to make you mine. I never loved him. No Sara, from the moment I met you I knew I want you. Unfortunately I didn’t even manage to be your friend.”  
“You hit on Grissom.”  
“No. I had dinner with him as I had with other friends. I was never interested in him. I wanted his girlfriend who couldn’t stand me.”  
“Just because I didn’t invite you over to dinner it doesn’t mean I couldn’t stand you.”  
“Sara.” Sofia cocked her head. “You were absolutely fine not having me around after work. It’s okay, it’s over.”  
“That are wise words, Golden Treasure. Stop arguing about the past when you have a present and future together. Use your energy for new diving plans and make sure you’ll be at the bar tomorrow night. It’s my treat for dinner.”  
“Dinner like real dinner?” Sofia asked.  
“Yes.”  
“We always get real dinner there.” Sara wondered.  
“That depends on what you call a real dinner. As a vegetarian you’re happy with salad. Me as a meat lover I call a proper dinner something with meat. A steak, a sausage, anything like that. When Rhys promises me a real dinner I expect meat on my plate.”  
“You’ll get your meat Sofia.” Rhys promised. He knew the blonde wanted meat for dinner. A salad wasn’t a real dinner for her and he could understand her. 

The feeling of Sofia’s skin on her own skin was something that still felt very special to Sara and she hoped it would be like that for the rest of her life. There couldn’t be a better feeling than the two of them naked in bed with fresh sheets, after a shower and with the moonlight giving the room a romantic touch.   
“Have your really been in love with me since we first met?” Sara couldn’t get this thought out of her head. How could she not have been aware of the feelings of the other woman? She had been so sure Sofia was after Grissom when she changed to graveyard shift. They had dinner together, she tried to impress him, worked a lot with him.   
“Let’s say I had a crush on you first. I felt I wanted to work with you all the time, wanted to be close to you. That I was in love with you was something I realized when I was a detective.”  
“I never noticed. You…it really looked like you were after Grissom.”  
“No. I like him, working with him was amazing but I was never sexual interested in him. He was a friend, a colleague, nothing more. It was obvious you had a crush on him so I thought if I’m close to him I might get closer to you. After all you made it clear you weren’t a fan of me. I hoped that would change when you found out your crush thought I’m not that bad.”  
“Wrong thought. Women don’t like the woman their crush is close to. They’re potential enemies.”  
“If I was an enemy I was his enemy because I wanted you.”  
“When did you find out? That you wanted me.”  
“The werewolf case. When you let me wait for hours I was really mad. First I thought it’s because you let me wait so long then I realized it was because I wasn’t important enough for you to rush over. That gave me the conclusion that if I can’t get your attention with a case I won’t get it at all. So far work had been the only thing that connected us. It hurt, it made me sad and was the evidence I needed to understand I wanted more than a work relationship. And realized I had no relationship with you at all.”  
“I didn’t let you wait on purpose. And I was with Grissom at that time.”  
“Really? I mean we all didn’t know until the night Nathalie abducted you…when he said she did that to hurt him, to take away the only one he ever loved…I shouldn’t tell you this about your ex, maybe you want him back when I say things like that. Forget what I said, stupid me will shut up now.”   
Sara kissed Sofia softly. “I don’t want him back, I want you. No matter what you tell me about him, he’s the past, you’re the present and future. Besides I know he said that, he told me later. The new angle to this story is you. It must have been hard for you that I was gone. And finding out I was with Grissom.”  
“I was a punch in the guts, yes. I knew I had lost you. Well I never had you but when he said the two of you were a couple I knew I had no chance to get you. I think that was the point when I made in my subconscious the decision to leave Vegas. All I wanted was get you back safe and leave. I couldn’t imagine to work with LVPD any longer. Seeing you and him together made me feel sick. Pushing the thoughts of you away with a lot of work and overtime didn’t work out so there was only one thing left to do: I quit and left.”  
“Didn’t you tell me you left because of burn-out?”  
“Maybe that wasn’t the main reason but the best reason I could give you at that time.” Sofia smiled. When they talked the first time about Sofia’s reasons for leaving the entire truth hadn’t been a good idea.   
“Maybe. You left and became a diving instructor in paradise. Not the worst change.”  
“If somebody had offered me to be with you in Vegas I would have left Magical Beach right away. I was away from Vegas but that didn’t mean I had you out of my head. You were still on my mind the whole time and that didn’t change when I tried to distract me with somebody else. A Mister Universe is nothing compared to you.”  
“He was on a poster on Times Square.”  
“So what?”  
“So he’s famous and apparently very good looking. While I’m only…I’m nothing of these things.”  
Sofia furrowed her brows. “I need to give you a lesson in self-esteem. Or you have to visit an ophthalmologist. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. Just because he was on a poster on Times Square it doesn’t mean he is better looking than you. Leave alone the thing that really matters: the personality.”  
“I bet when you ask the guests on the island they’ll tell you he looks better than me and they don’t care about his character. A poster doesn’t show character.”  
“Does it matter to you what a bunch of goofy girls think or what your girlfriend thinks?”  
“Stupid question.” Sara kissed Sofia. “You’re the one who matters.”  
“For me you’re the most beautiful and amazing person in the world. There’s nobody else I want here with me. You’re my everything.”  
“I try to remember that, thanks. And I’m sorry I acted like an idiot years ago.”  
“You didn’t know what I felt for you.”  
“Even if I had I doubt I were nicer.”  
“You were in love with Grissom.”  
“Yes…he was the one who was supposed to be the right one for me. He was a scientist and I was sure I need a scientist to be happy. Somebody who concentrates on facts and not feelings. Maybe I was so rude to you because some parts of me realized you fit much better to me but I couldn’t allow that because it was wrong in my head. And I was a head person, still am.”  
“No, you’re not a head person anymore. You listen much more to your feelings and do things that have nothing to do with science and facts. Looking for gold for example.”  
Sara laughed. “I’ve to admit I’m a little bit childish when it comes to the wreck, it’s like a huge playground. I’ve never been to playgrounds when I was a child, this is the chance to do something new, something I missed out.”  
“I’m glad I can be with you when you do that.”  
“You made that possible.”  
“Even better. I like to make you happy.”  
“Believe me I’ve never been as happy as I’m now.” Sara snuggled into Sofia’s arms and pulled her as close as possible.   
“What does your stone say? Does it still get warm when you think of me? When we’re close?”  
“No. I think it’s happy now that I’m where I belong. I’m sure Rhys gave it to me so I had some help to find out what I want, whom I belong to. After I did that its job was done and it’s only a stone now.” Sara took the stone in her hands. Yes, it looked like any other stone. But she knew it was special, it had helped her to become Sofia’s girlfriend. No matter if warm or cold it was their symbol of love.


End file.
